In August 2009, Tina R. Coleman of Moulton was a very unhappy woman. We can hardly blame Mrs. Coleman for being upset considering she had just discovered her 16 year-old son had been having sex with his principal's wife:
In early 2010, a Lawrence County District Judge dismissed the charges against Rebecca Nichols after Nichols privately settled Mrs. Coleman's civil suit. The outcome of the civil suit was not made public, but Mrs. Coleman originally sought 52 million dollars from Principal Ricky Nichols' then wife.
Now 19 months later, Mrs. Coleman has retained James Irby of Florence, attorney for the Lauderdale County Board of Education, to represent her in a suit against the Lawrence County Board. Also named in the suit are the school's athletic director and principal--yes, poor Mr. Nichols who can't seem to win for losing. As of two days ago, Lawrence Board of Education officials hadn't seen the suit involving its sexual harassment policy, but Mr. Irby has stated it's "a very serious situation with very serious circumstances."
The fact that an adult school employee has sex with a student is indeed serious; criminal charges should have been pursued, but sadly were not. So why a second suit? It seems Mrs. Coleman's son was banned from the football team in October of last year for twice testing positive for illicit drugs.
Are the two matters connected? Or is Mrs. Coleman just upset with East Lawrence High School banning her son from its athletics program? We await the trial (or settlement) for more details. In the mean time, Rebecca Nichols is living in a different county free to pursue...well, we have no idea what she may be pursuing, but we do hope it's no longer underage toy boys.
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In case any are wondering, several readers e-mailed us that the Rebecca Nichols involved in this particular sex scandal is definitely not the Rebecca Nichols of Playboy fame.
Shoalanda
Never let it be said that only male educators are predators--just take a look at Rebecca Nichols, a former clerical assistant at East Lawrence High School. While the title "clerical assistant" hardly sounds imposing, it took three tries before the Lawrence County School Board agreed to hire Nichols in October 2007. Even after the board agreed to offer Nichols the job, District 2 member Gary Bradford proclaimed it wanton nepotism, it seems Rebecca was married to East Lawrence principal Ricky Nichols.
Rebecca Nichols immediately became popular with students, either because of her outgoing manner or other assets. Rumors that Nichols had posed for Playboy the same month she was hired at East Lawrence spread like fungus, and the clerk was never short of would-be swains despite her marriage to the principal. We doubt these rumors are true, but if any of our male readers would like to make the time-consuming sacrifice of scanning old editions of the magazine, please give us a report of your findings.
Last May, the Lawrence County Board of Education chose not to renew Nichols' contract, ostensibly due to budget cuts; however, it was well known that Ricky and Rebecca Nichols were separated and about to file for divorce. According to Tina Coleman, a family friend, Rebecca Nichols then took refuge in the friendship she shared with Coleman's 16 year-old son.
Nichols' relationship with the high school student began as early as Thanksgiving 2008 when the young man spent the holiday weekend with Rebecca's children from a previous marriage. According to the youth, the pair had their first sexual encounter on March 7th. When Rebecca Nichols discovered she had lost her position at East Lawrence, she and the student engaged in the use of alcohol and marijuana in an attempt to assuage their mutual sorrow. According to the youth, the relationship ended in June when the boy began to date a girl his own age.
After Tina Coleman's other children informed her of the relationship between her son and Rebecca Nichols, she pressed charges against the former school clerk for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Rebecca Nichols, now residing in Blount County, has not publicly commented on the charges. Ricky Nichols says he has forgiven the youth, stating it was his estranged wife's fault. Obviously, as an adult, Rebecca Nichols must shoulder the lion's share of the blame; we do wonder how East Lawrence principal Ricky Nichols would view the situation if the school worker had been someone other than his soon-to-be-ex-wife.
What's up with this: A 1999 Hartland Institute study reported that 18% of female students admitted a male coach had approached them for sex. We're sure many students would not admit to such harassment; therefore, just what is the actual percentage in 2009? We hope all parents discuss this problem with their children.
Shoalanda 
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