Former Cookeville High School teacher Bruce Anderson was granted pre-trial diversion probation last Tuesday, January 11, on the charge of sexual battery placed against him last year.

This latest step in the case, presented in Criminal Court, means that no trial will be held and that Anderson avoids penalty if he successfully completes a two-year probationary period without further trouble.

Anderson, 58, of Cookeville, a long time well-known drama teacher, was accused in April 2010 of inappropriately touching an 18-year-old male student in a classroom at the high school during lunch hour when other students were present.

The student later told another teacher that Anderson had touched him on the crotch, and that teacher reported the allegation to the school’s resource officer, who set an investigation in motion.

School officials also made an investigation, and Anderson, who had 34 years in the profession and who had been experiencing health problems, retired from his job immediately.

In August, the Putnam County Grand Jury indicted Anderson on a charge of sexual battery, a Class E felony which carries a possible penalty of one to two years in prison.

Anderson hired Cookeville attorney Shawn Fry to represent him, and in November, he applied for pre-trial diversion, a form of probation allowed to some first offenders.

In a statement included in that application, Anderson wrote the following about the incident:

“The situation was most unfortunate, and I behaved in an immature and inappropriate way, allowing the line between professional and personal to blur. I fully realize how ‘out of line’ I was.”

According to documents in the case file, as the student and Anderson were talking in Anderson’s classroom that day, the student lifted his shirt to show Anderson his “nipple rings” and Anderson then committed the inappropriate touching.

As part of the investigation, Anderson was required to undergo psychological tests, and according to defense attorney Fry, the examination concluded that Anderson has no “cognitive distortion or irrational beliefs about sexual behavior.”

“Mr. Anderson has complied with everything he was asked to do in this investigation,” the attorney said. “He was eligible for pre-trial diversion and was not treated any different from anybody else in a case like this.”

District Attorney Randy York represented the state in the case.