Bingham faces possible forgery c

A former Loudon church leader who pleaded guilty in September for having sex with a minor is again under investigation as 9th Judicial District Attorney General Russell Johnson’s Office looks into a possible forged physician’s note.

Courtney Michelle Bingham, 36, was given 12 years in jail and must serve 35% before she is eligible for parole after pleading guilty in Loudon County Criminal Court to four counts of aggravated statutory rape and one count of solicitation of a minor to commit statutory rape by an authority figure stemming from her arrest in December 2018.

“Our office is pursuing an investigation that could lead to an additional criminal charge of forgery or related charges,” Johnson said in an email correspondence. “A hearing was held via phone conference in Morgan County with the treating physician in Morgan County to determine what should be done relative to her missing her report to jail date and her surgery that she had scheduled the day after she was to report. The doctor’s testimony at the hearing confirmed what we suspected regarding the ‘doctor’s excuse’.”

Prior to her plea, Bingham’s attorney Robert Hinton filed a motion for continuance Sept. 8 requesting to push back her trial, which was set for Sept. 15. According to the motion, Bingham, also known as Courtney Lackey, underwent “major neck surgery and cervical spinal fusion” Sept. 2. The motion said another surgery would occur four months later, and that she could not defend herself due to health concerns with infection risk, COVID-19 concerns and after-effects of her surgeries.

A physician’s letter was provided as an exhibit.

“She continues to be evaluated and we are pursuing additional testing and physical therapies, which inhibit her from working and being exposed to the public related to the risk of COVID-19,” according to the submitted letter. “Due to her health, she is at higher risk and is not released to return to work and from a neurological standpoint, due to her current condition and upcoming procedures, she is unable to stand trial Sept. 15, 2020.”

Johnson said during an in-chambers hearing in Wartburg, which was not public due to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy, Bingham’s doctor noted an altered letter, pointing out the font differences. Johnson said the doctor’s initial letter pertained to her work.

An emergency motion to delay entry into jail was filed Oct. 9 by Hinton, noting Bingham needed “subsequent major surgeries involving nerve endings pressing against her spinal cord, plus bone grafts.” The motion asked for at least 60 days delayed entry to jail/Tennessee Department of Corrections to allow for a surgery to occur Oct. 12 and rehabilitation. Bingham was set to begin her jail sentence Oct. 11. She reported Oct. 30 after being granted to do so from Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Wicks.

Hinton on Oct. 29 filed motions to withdraw the document and as attorney of record. A hearing on the motions have not been scheduled, Hinton said.

Hinton declined comment due to lawyer’s rules of ethics.

Johnson does not know how long the investigation will occur.

“We’re struggling with who’s going to go do the interview,” Johnson said. “This was Jason Smith’s case to begin with when he was at the sheriff’s office and he’s now at Lenoir City (Police Department). The forgery, we don’t know if took place in Loudon County, Loudon city, Knoxville, wherever. It may possibly be a (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) investigation. I may have one of my investigators work on it, too. Probably going to be a combination of two or three different agencies perhaps just to kind of figure out the logistics of how that needs to be done.”

If a charge is brought, Johnson said it would “possibly” be taken to a Loudon County grand jury in December.