HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A former teacher from Huntersville who was sentenced to prison for raping a 15-year-old girl was killed while in prison, the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections announced this week.
Ernest Nichols was serving a sentence at Greene Correctional Institution after being convicted of statutory rape in 2011 in Mecklenburg County. He was projected to be released in September 2027.
According to the DAC, Nichols was found unresponsive early Sunday morning, and he was pronounced deceased about an hour later. Authorities said a homicide investigation is underway.
Channel 9 reported on Nichols’ arrest and conviction in 2011. Prosecutors said Nichols made videos of himself raping the girl, and they offered a plea deal to spare the girl and her family the pain of going to trial.
“He manipulated his family, he manipulated the child, he manipulated his friends, everyone believed it was her fault,” prosecutor Kelly Miller said in court back in 2011.
The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into Nichols’ death; no arrests or charges have been announced yet. The DAC said Greene Correctional Institution has been placed on a temporary lockdown during the investigation.
(VIDEO: NC Rep. Cecil Brockman faces rape charges; party calls for resignation)
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