A former middle school teacher in North Carolina, 60-year-old Ernest Nichols, who was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl, was killed in prison, allegedly by another inmate. Convicted murderer Wilbert Baldwin, 41, has been charged with murder.
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As reported by WITN, citing the Department of Adult Correction (DAC), Nichols was found dead in his dormitory at around 6:50 a.m. on Sunday, October 5. He was lying on the floor next to his bunk. The Greene Correctional Institution was placed on temporary lockdown, triggering a murder investigation.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI) then confirmed via an online statement that Wilbert Bladwin was served with a murder warrant on Tuesday, October 7. He was returned to the DAC to continue serving his current sentence.
As per the NC SBI, Baldwin was convicted of second-degree murder in 2010. Meanwhile, Nichols was serving an 18-year sentence after being convicted of statutory rape in 2011.
Heinous Crimes
As reported by WBTV, Nichols was a North Carolina teacher, employed at Ransom Middle School as a physical education instructor. Throughout six months in 2008, Nichols raped a 15-year-old girl several times after posing as his teen son online.
A warrant cited by the outlet detailed Nichols’ abuse, which occurred at his Huntersville home. By posing as his teenage son, he asked the girl to come up with sexually-charged stories. He also requested that she text him “whenever she entered the shower.”
Furthermore, Nichols instructed the girl that, should she ever be asked about the sexual encounters with him, she should tell people she “wanted” to have sex. Prosecutors also accused him of watching another male having sex with the 15-year-old.
While she was not a student in his middle school, the 15-year-old, according to the Associated Press, was his son’s girlfriend. According to the outlet, a prosecutor also shared in court that Nichols had recorded himself having sex with her.
Eventually, Ernest Nichols pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape in 2011. As part of the plea agreement, 18 other felony charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison, with the victim’s family supporting the plea deal.
As per WITN, Nichols was to be released from prison in September 2027.