A former Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. employee accused of neglecting two children and battering one of the children while intoxicated at a local school has made her first court appearance.
Tiffany S. Cooksey, 35, 2990 W. County Road 300 S., had an initial hearing Thursday in Bartholomew Circuit Court via a live video feed from the Bartholomew County Jail.
Cooksey has been formally charged with one count of public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor, one count of neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony, and one count of battery on a child, a Level 5 felony. Those charges were filed in Bartholomew Circuit Court after Cooksey’s Dec. 11 arrest at Mt. Healthy Elementary School.
Cooksey could face up to more than eight-and-a-half years in prison, as well as fines of up to $21,000 if convicted of both felonies and the misdemeanor.
Cooksey has been held in the Bartholomew County Jail since her arrest on Dec. 11, held in lieu of $7,500 bond. Cooksey said during the hearing she has met with pre-trial services seeking to be released without having to post bond. However, she also learned she has an outstanding warrant in Hamilton County for violating probation of a previous Level 6 felony conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a minor under 18 years old.
Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin issued a potential release order that forbids Cooksey from having any contact with her fiance’s children until further notice. Cooksey must also notify pre-trial services of any change of address or phone number within 48 hours or any contact with law enforcement, whether arrested or not, within 48 hours.
Under the potential release order, Cooksey is not permitted to leave the state without consent of the court, and she will undergo a substance abuse and mental health evaluation, accompanied by a signed release to her current health care providers.
Benjamin appointed defense attorney Mike DeArmitt to represent Cooksey.
Future court dates include a pre-trial conference/plea hearing at 10:45 a.m. April 27. A jury trial date is tentatively scheduled for 8:30 a.m. March 26.
Cooksey, whose employment has been terminated by BCSC, was an i-CARE assistant site coordinator at Mt. Healthy Elementary. i-CARE is BCSC’s optional childcare program open to all BCSC families. The program offers before- and after-school care.
Bartholomew County Sheriff deputies arrested Cooksey on Dec. 11 at the school after deputies received a call from a parent who reported that Cooksey had been verbally aggressive toward the caller’s son.
The parent said she smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Cooksey’s breath, the affidavit stated.
Cooksey told deputies she was not working at the school, however, when asked what she was doing at the school, Cooksey said, “I’m working here,” according to the affidavit.
After slamming her bag on the ground, an empty bottle of Dark Eyes vodka rolled out of the bag, in full view by a sheriff deputy, the affidavit stated. Carlson placed Cooksey in handcuffs but she refused to take a portable breath test, according to the affidavit.
As deputies were preparing to transport Cooksey to Columbus Regional Hospital, she repeatedly asked, “Are my girls OK?”
She told deputies there were zero children in the school, according to the affidavit. Carlson asked if she had children and Cooksey replied “aggressively that it was none of his business and she had zero children.”
Sheriff’s Capt. Dave Steinkoenig noticed a back door open on a nearby white Buick in the school parking lot that had Cooksey’s two step-daughters, ages 7 and 10, inside. Both children were wearing winter coats, and it was approximately 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside at the time, the affidavit states.
It is not clear how long the children had been left inside the vehicle unattended, deputies said.
The vehicle did belong to Cooksey and was not running when deputies noticed the children inside it. The children were picked up by their father and Child Protective Services was made aware of the incident, deputies said.
After being taken to Columbus Regional Hospital, Cooksey claimed she suffers from borderline personality disorder and said she had not been managing the disorder well lately, the probable cause affidavit stated.
On Dec. 17, Bartholomew County Deputy Prosecutor Lindsey Holden Kay filed a Level 5 felony charge of battery after a school surveillance video showed Cooksey battering her fiance’s 10-year-old daughter at the school on Dec. 11.
The camera footage depicts Cooksey in an altercation with the 10-year-old, the probable affidavit states. In the footage, Cooksey grabs the young girl by the hair and yanks her head back in a forceful and violent manner, the affidavit states.
Cooksey then throws the girl forward, causing the girl to stumble and lose her balance, according to the affidavit. As the girl turns to face Cooksey after she stumbles, Cooksey strikes the girl in the face, the affidavit states.
