Houston County District Judge Benjamin Lewis denied Johnny Dunaway's request to have his ankle monitor removed for medical purposes.
Dunaway, a math teacher at Jerry Lee Faine Elementary, is charged with 10 counts of enticing a child for immoral purposes, one count of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old and one count of interference with custody. He is also accused of threatening at least one of the alleged victims.
Although prosecutors dubbed Dunaway as a “flight risk” and alleged he told the victim he would “blow” his head off or kill his family if he told on him, Dunaway was released on bond in May. As a condition of his bond, Dunaway was ordered to wear electronic monitoring.
In a recent emergency court filing, Dunaway’s attorneys asked the judge to remove the ankle monitor for an MRI in Montgomery. However, the judge denied that request after prosecutors argued there was “no documentation to show that the Defendant is truly scheduled for an MRI or why said MRI cannot take place in Dothan.”
Prosecutors pointed out that Dunaway was previously accused of misconduct in Georgia and Florida and that there is an airport in Montgomery.
The arrest of Dunaway sparked controversy after Dothan City School officials raised alarm about mandatory reporting. The school system was not made aware of the allegations for months. Two school officials were subsequently charged with failure to comply with Alabama's mandatory reporting law.
Further, Dothan City Schools Board of Education attorney Dustin Fowler called for Dunaway’s teaching certificate to be revoked by State Superintendent Eric Mackey. Dunaway’s certificate remains valid.
Dunaway is considered innocent until proven guilty. 1819 News has reached out to his attorneys for comment.
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