Warning: This article contains discussions of rape that may be upsetting for some readers.
A former school teacher, convicted of statutory rape, is suspected to have been killed by another inmate in his North Carolina prison.
Ernest Nichols, 60, who previously taught at Ranson Middle School in Charlotte, was apprehended in 2009 with numerous charges including statutory rape of an individual aged 13, 14, or 15, along with six counts of second-degree kidnapping, and four counts of second-degree forcible sex offense, among others.
Following the emergence of sexual offense allegations, Nichols was suspended from the school without pay and subsequently banned from the premises.
In 2011, he received a 15-year prison sentence for statutory rape, with a projected release date in September 2027.
However, Nichols was discovered lifeless in his cell at Greene Correctional Institution in Maury, North Carolina, on Sunday, October 5, at approximately 6:50am local time.
According to a statement from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, Nichols was found unresponsive, leading staff to initiate emergency life-saving measures.
Emergency responders arrived at the scene, but Nichols was declared deceased at 7:22am.
His passing resulted in the prison being placed on lockdown, and on October 7, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced that another inmate, 41-year-old Wilbert Baldwin, was served a murder warrant by Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies in connection with Nichols’ death.
Baldwin had a 2010 conviction for second-degree murder in Richmond County.
Following the warrant issuance, Baldwin was held without bond and returned to the Department of Adult Correction to continue serving his sentence, while the State Bureau of Investigation further examines the murder case at the behest of the Greene County Sheriff.
Prior to his incarceration, a search warrant detailed allegations that Nichols raped a girl, not a student at his school, repeatedly at his Huntersville home over a six-month period starting in the fall of 2008.
He also allegedly observed her engage in consensual sex with another male.
The warrant, referenced by WBTV, accused Nichols of impersonating his son on Facebook and instructing the girl to ‘text message Nichols whenever she entered the shower’.
Nichols was a physical education teacher at Ranson Middle School in North Charlotte and had been with the school district for 14 years.
If you have been impacted by the issues discussed in this article, you can reach out to The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7, or chat online at online.rainn.org