GREGG COUNTY, Texas — A Gregg County judge has dismissed an indecency with a child by sexual contact charge against a former White Oak Independent School District band director.
According to Gregg County judicial records, 124th District Judge Alfonso Charles waived the case brought against Jacovia Cartwritght, 31, on Thursday, January 10.
The Longview News-Journal reports the prosecutor assigned to the case said the reason for the dismissal was due to the fact the state could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Cartwright was arrested on May 2, 2016, on the campus of Westwood High School, where he was working at the time. He was booked into the Anderson County Jail, but later posted bail.
According to the White Oak Police Department, the investigation began in April 2015, when law enforcement was contacted by WOISD in regards to allegations that Cartwright was exchanging inappropriate text messages with a juvenile female student.
Police said, at the time, they secured a search warrant to conduct a forensic investigation of phones and computers belonging to Cartwright. The WOPD reported the examination of Cartwright’s devices led to the discovery of pictures of clothed and unclothed individuals, some of whom were juveniles.
Officials say they were able to identify some of the juveniles in the photos. One juvenile female told police she didn’t know how Cartwright got her picture. She went on to say that during a White Oak band trip in May 2010, Cartwright sat beside her on the bus, slid his hand under her blanket and touched her in an inappropriate manner.
Law enforcement was able to confirm the WO band did take a trip to San Marcos during that time and Cartwright was present.
Police, along with the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office, then obtained an arrest warrant for Cartwright.
However, in March 2017, attorney Daryll Bennett presented evidence to the court which he says proves the juvenile female lied about Cartwright’s actions, according to the Longview News-Journal.
Bennett revealed Facebook messages reportedly sent to Cartwright from the juvenile female, who accused him of inappropriate behavior, less than a week after his arrest.
The LNJ reports the student told Cartwright, “I’m not supposed to talk to you but I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for everything. You are one of my favorite teachers and I feel guilty for lying about you.”
She continued, “Please forgive me and don’t tell anyone I talked to you. I am afraid of what the police might do since I kind of lied to them too about everything. I saw the picture and it scared me because it was on my Facebook profile so I thought maybe if I deleted it and made a new profile that it would go away. I’m really sorry for this. I feel terrible and guilty and I don’t know what to do.”
Bennett also produced an email he says was from the girl to Cartwright, in which she wrote, “Please I didn’t mean to hurt you. You know I know it’s all made up? They told me.”
Cartwright’s counsel also presented a hotel receipt from the trip in 2010. Bennett said the juvenile female, who made the accusations against his client, was not on the hotel’s list of students who were guests of their establishment. He also claimed he acquired the list of students who went on the trip from the school district, but her name was not on that record, either, according to the LNJ.
