South Carolina Kindergarten Teacher Accused of Abusing Student Tells Judge She’s Pregnant

A kindergarten teacher from South Carolina, who is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a young student, smiled in court as she was let out on bail. This happened after she surprised the judge by saying she is pregnant.

Nicole Ballew Callaham, 33, faces three charges of criminal sexual conduct with a minor. This means she’s accused of sexual abuse involving a teenager, starting when the boy was only 14 years old. She turned herself in to the police in Anderson County, near Greenville, last week.

During a court hearing on Thursday for her bail, her lawyers told the judge that Callaham is 8 to 9 weeks pregnant. No one in court mentioned who the father might be. Callaham has a fiancé, who is an adult, and he was there to support her.

She joined the hearing through a video call from jail, where she looked upset in a plain cell. This was very different from her fun social media posts, where she seemed like a happy teacher celebrating with friends and even singing songs.

Police started looking into the case in May. They say the abuse began in 2021 with a 14-year-old student named Grant Strickland and lasted for two years.

The victim, now 18, said in court, “I’m here to fight and I’m not going to back down.” He wants his story to help other people speak up about similar experiences. He added that just because he’s a guy doesn’t mean his story should be ignored, since he was a child at the time.

According to the sheriff’s office, the relationship grew because Callaham would sign the student out of school, drive him to practices, and watch over after-school events. This led to ongoing abuse, which was backed up by evidence from searches and help from the victim’s family.

Strickland reported it after turning 18, after dealing with the trauma. A detective read a letter from his mother in court. She said Callaham met her son while helping with a school play and took advantage of his innocence and how easy he was to influence.

Callaham was released after paying a $120,000 bond. The judge ordered her to stay away from Strickland and certain places where he might go.

In her personal life, Callaham divorced her first husband in May of last year and is in a fight over custody of their young daughter. Her ex-husband asked for changes to the custody on the same day she turned herself in.