Police said Mary “Hanna” Mattingly, 31, had sexual contact with a student and sent partially nude photos, while school officials said an anonymous letter set off the inquiry last week.
BARDSTOWN, Ky. — A Bardstown High School substitute teacher and soccer coach was arrested Monday after an anonymous letter accused her of inappropriate conduct with a student, prompting school officials to remove her from duty, place her on leave and turn the matter over to police.
Mary “Hanna” Mattingly, 31, is charged with first-degree sexual abuse and procuring or promoting the use of a minor by electronic means. Police said their investigation found sexual contact with a high school student and electronic communication that included partially nude photos. The arrest put the case at the start of the criminal process while leaving major questions unanswered, including how long the alleged conduct lasted, whether it happened on school grounds and whether investigators believe any other students were involved.
The case began with an anonymous letter received Thursday, March 26, according to Bardstown City Schools Superintendent Ryan Clark. In a statement reported by local outlets, Clark said the letter alleged “inappropriate conduct by a female substitute teacher” and a student. The district said it opened an internal investigation, removed Mattingly from teaching duties, placed her on administrative leave and contacted Bardstown police. Four days later, officers arrested her at about 10:30 a.m. Monday. Clark said the district acted quickly once the allegation arrived. “We always take any report seriously and investigate thoroughly,” he said, adding that student safety remains the district’s priority. By Monday afternoon, what had begun as a closed personnel matter had become a public criminal case centered on one teacher, one student and a short but intense timeline inside the school system.
Police said the investigation led them to conclude that Mattingly engaged in sexual contact with a high school student and communicated with that same student electronically. According to the police account carried by local television stations, that communication included partially nude photographs sent to the student. She was booked into the Nelson County Correctional Center after the arrest. Public reports released Monday did not identify the student, disclose the student’s age or grade, or say where the alleged encounters took place. They also did not describe whether investigators recovered messages, images or other digital records directly from a phone, school device or social media account. Bardstown police said the investigation remains ongoing and asked anyone with more information to contact the department or its anonymous tip line. No public statement from Mattingly or an attorney representing her was included in the first round of reporting, and school officials said they could not discuss further details because it is a personnel matter.
The charges point to how Kentucky law treats cases involving both direct sexual contact and electronic communication with a minor. Under KRS 510.110, first-degree sexual abuse can apply when a person in a position of authority or special trust subjects a minor under 18, encountered through that role, to sexual contact. The statute classifies the offense as a felony. A second law, KRS 510.155, makes it unlawful to use a communications system to procure or promote the use of a minor for prohibited sexual activity. That law says each day of unlawful electronic communication can count as a separate violation, and it carries heightened penalties in some circumstances, including when the accused is in a position of authority or special trust. Those statutes help explain why police described both alleged sexual contact and the sending of images as central parts of the same case, even though investigators have not publicly laid out a full timeline of the alleged contact between Mattingly and the student.
The case remains in its earliest stage, and the next steps are likely to turn on court scheduling, discovery and whatever digital evidence investigators say they collected. In Kentucky, an arrest on felony charges is only the opening step. Prosecutors still must carry the case through the pretrial process, and the defense will have an opportunity to challenge the allegations, the collection of electronic evidence and any statements attributed to the accused. As of Tuesday, publicly available local reports had not laid out a detailed probable cause narrative beyond the police summary, and officials had not publicly said whether additional charges were being considered. The school district, meanwhile, faces a separate track from the criminal case. It has already said Mattingly was removed from duties and placed on leave, but officials have not announced whether she has resigned, been terminated or will face any further administrative proceedings tied to her role in the district.
What gives the case its sharpest edge is how little public information stood between the first complaint and the arrest. The anonymous letter arrived on a Thursday. By Monday morning, police had made an arrest, local television stations were carrying the allegations and the district was issuing a short statement stressing safety and limited comment. Clark said the district encourages students, parents and staff to report anything “alarming or inappropriate,” a line that placed the anonymous letter at the center of the public story without revealing who sent it or what specific claims it made. Police, for their part, kept their public account narrow, focusing on the charges, the allegation of sexual contact and the sending of partially nude photos. That left Bardstown with a case defined less by open courtroom detail than by the speed of the response, the weight of the accusations and the unanswered questions that usually come only later, after filings, hearings and evidence reviews begin.
Mattingly was publicly listed Tuesday as charged, not convicted, and police said the investigation was still active. The next milestone is expected to be an initial court proceeding in Nelson County, where a judge will address the charges, scheduling and the first formal steps in the case.
Author note: Last updated March 31, 2026.