Lake Tahoe Preparatory Teacher Charged with Felony Assault and Child Abuse, Pleads Not Guilty

Courtesy Placer County website

By Robert J. Hansen

Lake Tahoe Preparatory School teacher Nicola Jane Kennedy was charged with felony assault and child abuse as well as great bodily injury last January according to Placer County Superior Court documents.

Kennedy, 47, was arrested at 12:18 p.m. on suspicion of child endangerment in the 10100 block of Pine Avenue in Truckee, near the daycare, Tahoe Forest Children’s Center, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s crime log.

Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment and has pleaded not guilty. Her next court date is in late August.

The Placer Sheriff’s Office did not provide any further information about the nature of the incident or any information about the victim.

Tahoe Forest Children’s Center could not be reached for comment.

Lake Tahoe Prep did not answer questions about whether Kennedy still works at the school.

Kennedy also has an active warrant issued by a Florida court for a 2015 DUI, according to records.

While being taken to the hospital, she became verbally combative, claiming fire department personnel were being aggressive when they were not even talking to her, according to the police report.

“She insisted they were being aggressive,” the report said. “Nicola was too incoherent to realize they were not even talking to her but to each other in a calm voice.”

At the hospital, she again refused any attempts to obtain her blood and became verbally combative again.

Kennedy yelled at the officer that he did not read her anything or ask her any questions and called another officer a “f*** tard, the report said.

Nicola is married to Michael Kennedy who is an English teacher at Lake Tahoe Prep. Michael Kennedy also works as a substitute at Creekside Charter School.

Before moving to South Lake Tahoe, Michael Kennedy was arrested for assault in Seattle, Washington on September 23, 2019.

The charges were dismissed after he moved to Tahoe and became a teacher at Creekside Charter School in 2020.

Creekside Charter Board member Christina Campbell is the wife of Placer County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Cattran.

According to public records, DA Cattran and Michael Kennedy appear to be relatives of some kind but neither of them would confirm this when asked for comment.

While Michael Kennedy wrote in his blog that he met Nicola online in 2019, public records reveal that the couple lived in proximity within the same small South Florida community for several years prior.

This is an ongoing story.

About The Author

Robert J Hansen is an investigative journalist and economist. Robert is covering the Yolo County DA's race for the Vanguard.

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