Court records show that Keith Ervin, a school board member in Washington County, Tennessee, now faces an assault charge tied to an April incident in which he hugged a teenage girl and told her she was "hot" at a public board meeting.
Specifically charged as assault — physical contact, the case centers on what happened April 2 when, just after a female student board member concluded her questions on career and technical education, Ervin wrapped his arm around her, pulled her into a hug, and said, "God, you're hot. Do you know that? Damn. Where do you go to school at?"
Ervin said the comment was meant to convey that she had been "on a roll" and was not a reference to her appearance. Washington County court records listed no attorney for Ervin, and he did not reply to a request for comment, according to NBC News.
The board voted to censure Ervin at an emergency session on April 8, every board member voted to formally censure Ervin, who abstained from the vote. Whitney Riddle urged him to step down, while Eric Barnes told Ervin directly that his conduct had been inappropriate and that resignation was the proper course of action, according to NBC News.
During public comment at the May 7 meeting, the student took the podium and delivered pointed remarks, labeling the adult board members "cowards" over what she called their "failure to act." Ervin sat across from her with his arms crossed as she declared that his behavior had been "unwelcome" as well as "sexist and derogatory," according to NBC News. She also told board members that their apologies were "fake" and offered only "to protect yourselves," and that she refused to accept them.
