Former Old Town Middle School Coach Convicted of Sexual Battery

District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced today that Marchenne Nyree Hatchett, 46, was convicted by a Madison County jury of one count of sexual battery. Hatchett was a coach and teacher at Old Town Middle School in Ridgeland, and his victim was his student. 

On February 23, 2023, Hatchett engaged in sexual contact with a then fourteen-year-old female student while they were in school. The child’s mother became aware of the allegation and notified school personnel approximately one week after the incident. Officials with the school were able to pull video surveillance from the school that confirmed Hatchett and his victim were outside of the classroom during class time which corroborated the victim’s time line of events. 

School officials turned the surveillance tapes over to the Ridgeland Police Department after confirming with the victim as to what had occurred. The student disclosed that the contact had only occurred one time while she was in the former teacher’s class. 

The case was indicted by a Madison County grand jury in May for a single count of sexual battery and proceeded to trial Monday, September 18. After hearing testimony from both the victim and school personnel, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty. Hatchett will be sentenced November 13, 2023, by Judge Steve Ratcliff. 

Defendant: 

Name: Marchenne Hatchett 

Date of Birth: 01/27/1977