Alma mater bans former Georgia homecoming queen for life

Assistant principal refuses to lift trespass warning against teen

FOLKSTON, Ga. – A local homecoming queen and honor roll student is fighting for the right to go back to her alma mater -- and not be arrested.

Chaquoya Brown and her family blame small town politics for what they believe is an unfair punishment.

The battle began in August 2017 when Brown, a recent graduate, stopped by during the lunch period as a visitor to see her sister and say goodbye to friends before she left to head north to Kennesaw State University, where she attends college.

But a dispute with the assistant principal left Brown banned from the campus for life.

The enforcement of the trespass means she could be arrested at any point for walking back on school property; she noted the school system had to grant her a one-night reprieve last fall so she could come back and crown the next homecoming queen.

The Charlton County school system disputes any accusations of harsh treatment, arguing school safety is its primary concern.

Brown disagreed. "I went out to the school, I went to the office and I followed protocol," she said.

Charlton County High School Assistant Principal Josh Popham

Brown said it was there in the office that a secretary directed her to Assistant Principal Josh Popham. Her mother believes what happened next wasn't professional on Popham's behalf, but rather, personal.

"The first time he told her to leave and return after school hours," Maria Brown said. "She did as she was instructed and upon her return after school hours he was standing outside waiting for her to return back. She kept her distance from him to keep from having a confrontation."

Parking lot confrontation

Chaquoya Brown admitted that while she was a student, she had a few disagreements with Popham.

She said this time, to protect herself, she recorded audio on her cellphone. In Georgia, one-party consent is legal for audio recordings.

She said the incident took place after school in the visitors parking lot.

Chaquoya Brown: You told me after school hours.

Popham: Yes, but then you got mouthy with me when you were leaving so you can go. Like right now you got to get in your car.

Popham: Did you hear me?

(School bell rings)

Brown: I'm going to stay right here because you told me after school hours.

Next, someone from the school called the Folkston police.

Brown also recorded part of her conversation with the officer who arrived.

Officer: You gotta go.

Brown: Okay.

Officer: If you don't leave, you're going to jail for criminal trespassing.

Brown: Say what?

Officer: If you don't leave, you're going to jail for criminal trespassing.

Brown: Come on!

Brown said her comment "come on" was directed at her sister, whom she was picking up from school.

Everyone involved agreed Brown then left the school.

The next day, Folkston police called Brown and told her she was being served with a criminal trespass warning for all Charlton County school properties. Police Chief Wesley Green told the I-TEAM he asked Popham the next day if he wanted to follow through with the criminal trespass against Brown and Popham said yes.

Brown was 17 years old the day the incident happened and was legally a minor when she was asked to sign the trespass warning. She signed it, but noted she was "not in agreement."

The trespass was originally for all Charlton County school properties and was later amended by the school system to only apply to Charlton County High School.

But, it's a warning in place for life and potentially available in any public records search, which is infuriating for Chaquoya Brown's mother.

Maria Brown: How do you leave as instructed and still get a criminal trespassing warning?

Lynnsey Gardner: Some people may say to you, she didn't get arrested. It's a criminal trespass in her file, why not drop this?

Chaquoya Brown:  It's for a lifetime. It's not just for now ... maybe 20 years from now and I have a degree from college and I come back here to raise my kids and I can't even go to the school and check on my kids or register my kids so it's not just a right now type of thing, it's in the future as well.

The I-TEAM tracked down Folkston Police Chief Wesley Green.

Folkston Police Chief Wesley Green

"She was asked to leave, she refused to leave by the school administrator. We asked her to leave, she refused to leave and, at that point we could arrest her. But she eventually left and we served her with a criminal trespass and we don't drop criminal trespass," explained Green. "The law is the law. We didn't start this, she did."

Gardner: So your message here is no one is above the law?

Green: No one is above the law. Including myself. She's my relative. She's my cousin.

The chief explains that under the law, the only way to amend the final trespass is for the school system to write a letter expressing that Chaquoya Brown is allowed back on the property. However, in doing so, the school system then assumes all liability for her actions in the future.

Getting answers

The I-TEAM went to find the attorney who represents the school district, Patrick Brooks. He also represents the city of Folkston which includes the Folkston Police Department.

Brooks declined to speak on camera.

We directed our questions to the school district. So far, neither Brooks nor Charlton County Superintendent John Lairsey have said anything about backing off from the trespass citation.

Based on Brown's earlier experiences with Popham, the I-TEAM requested his personnel file from the Charlton County School district. This is standard practice by the I-TEAM when we are investigating any person who holds a job funded by taxpayers.

The district said there have been no formal complaints filed against Popham since he was hired in 2002 and later promoted. His tenure is described as "exemplary."

While going through the file, we did find one piece of paper that caught our eye.

It was a short one paragraph letter written by Popham in 2002 addressed to "To Whom It May Concern."

DOCUMENT: Josh Popham's 2002 letter

Popham asked for a second chance for what he called "immature behavior" as a "juvenile" at 17 when he was arrested for a DUI in Charlton County. The letter said he pleaded no contest and the records were sealed, but he decided to be "truthful" about what happened and hoped it wouldn't hold him back from getting his teaching certification as this was "a one-time offense."

Chaquoya Brown was also a juvenile at 17 on the day in question when police were called and Popham went forward with the lifelong trespass ban.

The I-TEAM wrote Popham and the superintendent about our finding. Brooks responded on their behalf writing, in part, the incidents were in no way related, adding, "Mr. Popham accepted responsibility and suffered the consequences... Ms. Brown ...refuses to accept there are consequences to her actions."

Brooks also accused Brown of wanting to live "a consequence-free life."

DOCUMENT: Response from school board attorney Patrick Brooks

Brown and her family tell News4JAX they just want leaders to give her a similar second chance like Popham received.

Outside legal analysis

For perspective, we talked spoke with an attorney not affiliated with the case, Jacksonville lawyer John Phillips, who is also licensed to practice law in Georgia.

"It does seem like an overreaction," Phillips said. "It seems like tempers flared and, rather than resolve a dispute, they just kind of took their ball and went home and said, 'You're never going to come back here again.'"

"We're also in a state of affairs, Lynnsey, where school systems are getting more rights to keep people off and I think that is fair," explained Phillips. "A property owner or property holder has a right to trespass people and say they don't want them on their property, the property owner can always reverse its decision, they can change their mind."

Phillips said this case is a textbook example of where hiring an attorney could have helped the situation. He believes the Brown family should have hired an attorney to fight the trespass in court although Phillips admitted that in such an interconnected town, it could have proved challenging.

"There could have been a criminal trial. It sounds like she waived her right to a hearing on that," Phillips said. "That doesn't mean it's a forever decision an until then, even though it's not fair, it's the rule of the law."

Chaquoya Brown's father, Charles Brown, said they were holding out for a peaceful resolution. Now he can't believe how far this case has gone.

"We hold all our kids to a high standard, we teach them to do what's right," Charles Brown said.  "Why can't the officials of this town do what's right? Who raised them? Maybe I should have raised them and we'll be in a different situation."

School system responds

Dr. John Lairsey declined our request for an on-camera interview, and provided the following statement instead:

"The Charlton County School System is committed to providing a safe and orderly school environment for our students and staff.  We have confidence in our administrators to ensure that we do indeed provide that safe and orderly environment, and we are pleased with the collaborative relationship we have with the Folkston Police Department.  We continually evaluate all of our policies and procedures, especially as they relate to maximizing instructional time to promote academic achievement and school safety."