Larry Dawson, the Antioch man accused of bringing a pellet gun into the U.S. Capitol earlier this week, used to work for Williamson County Schools as a bus driver– He was fired in May, 2001 for having inappropriate contact with a Centennial student.
He had sent her letters when she was 15 and again when she was 17.
In them he compared her to the Virgin Mary, told her to not be ashamed of using birth control or of taking a pregnancy test, offered to pay for her medical expenses and said he wanted to make her his wife and father her child. He sent his first letter to the teen in February 2001. All this according to a Fox 17 report.
It is unclear if they had any physical contact or if she was one of the students who rode on his bus.
After he was fired he made several attempts to get his job back. First he demanded a hearing in front of the school board after his termination, and then filed a lawsuit against WCS in February, 2003, alleging among other things that his civil rights were violated and that he suffered malicious persecution. He alleged that the district was not letting him express his religious beliefs. He wrote a God letter to the director of schools in 2001 that said, ” I am chosen prophet of God and I must give you his words.”
Dawson continued to try to contact the teen, even after being arrested in 2002 and asked to stay away from her. He still mailed her a letter in August 2003 saying she was his “subject and goal,” according to Fox 17. He wrote he was willing to “do something daring, even fight for her.” He was charged with harassment, but the charges were ultimately dropped after a judge ordered him committed to Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institution instead of jail.
On March 21, 2005, a judge ordered Dawson to be committed to Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institution and later outpatient treatment instead of sending him to jail. The harassment charges for writing the teen letters were dismissed by reason of insanity.
For the full story and details, read the Fox 17 report.
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