Pregnant Teacher's Post-Birth Move Rocks Teen Grooming Case

[00:00:00] Chris Stewart: This former kindergarten teacher is accused of grooming and sexually abusing an underage boy, and she may have just been given a major break by the court. Nikki Callahan is facing some sick allegations, but her alleged victim is not hiding. I'm here to fight and I'm not going to back down. Not only is this former kindergarten teacher an alleged sexual predator, she just became a new mom. And we'll unpack how that potentially impacts her future as she is facing the grim reality of years behind bars. We're on the case presented by Law & Crime. I'm Chris Stewart. Guys, what if you could turn your predictions about real world events into profit with Calci, the largest prediction market in the US, you can sign up and start trading today. And when you use my referral code OTC, you will get $10 when you trade your first $10. So here's how it works. Calci is peer-to-peer trading. 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Issues of pretrial detention can be tough decisions for judges, especially in a case like this, where you have someone named Nikki Callahan, who is accused of disgusting behavior, scary behavior, frankly, the sexual abuse of a boy who she allegedly groomed as a local theater director. So what do you do when that defendant comes to you wanting looser restrictions? And the reason is that she has a new baby. Now that was a big ask that Nikki Callahan recently had for a judge in South Carolina. This is video of her from her most recent court appearance per Fox Carolina. Now we're going to talk about in just a moment what the court did for her. Now this is Callahan from a previous court appearance here. She is flashing a smile at the camera as she entered a courtroom. She was arrested in July of 2025 and at that time she was pregnant and she was also accused of sexually abusing a young boy who has now faced her multiple times in court and just wait until I tell you what he had to say to her this time. Now we have been following this case from the very beginning. So here's a quick reminder of how we got here. Nikki Callahan worked as a public school teacher, a kindergarten teacher in Anderson, South Carolina, and she seemed to be the kind of person who you would want to teach your kids. She seemed fun, bubbly, and passionate about young people. This is video of her dancing in a classroom for a local talent show in a video that was posted on social media. Now we know at some point Callahan was reportedly married. This is video of her on her wedding day and at the time of her arrest, she already had a daughter, a girl believed to be about a toddler's age, and she does come into play when it comes to some of these allegations we're going to talk about. Very disturbing in just a moment. Now Callahan reportedly was the musical theater director for a local playhouse in South Carolina. On Facebook, this playhouse, it really describes itself as a safe place for kids. It produces multiple theatrical productions each school year, quote, fostering confidence and creativity. Now you can see how Callahan on the outside seemed like the type of person parents would want around their children and that is why so many did not expect that she could be capable of what she is now accused of. I think more [00:04:15] Grant Strickland: awareness needs to be brought to things like this and just because I'm a man doesn't mean that it should be shunned away because I was a child. I wasn't a man. I was a boy. That is the alleged victim, Grant Strickland. [00:04:29] Chris Stewart: He's now 18 years old and he spoke to media members outside a courthouse after one of Callahan's previous court appearances and he also spoke at her most recent appearance and you just have to think that the bravery he has shown to come forward, to speak in court, to speak to members of the media about what he says happened to him, that could be a major problem for Callahan's defense going forward. Now, Grant and his family says they knew Callahan because she gave their son a lead role in a play that she was putting on at this local theater and it was legally blonde. The play was back in 2021 and at that time, Grant was 14 years old. This is the flyer for that show that we found on Facebook. Now we often see in cases like this alleged predators really try to blur the lines between the relationships that they have with victims and their families. Maybe they're a teacher and a victim is a student. In this case, she's a theater director and the alleged victim is someone who is in her cast and then you see that alleged predator try to have a more personal relationship and that is what the victim's family said happened in this case. So Grant's parents say that Nikki started to offer to help the family by picking Grant up from rehearsals and driving him back and forth. But she also allegedly started to confide in Grant's family about the issues that she was having in her personal life. She said she was having some marriage problems. She was having issues with her mom and her sister. But eventually Grant's mom allegedly found out that something more was going on and they believed that Nikki was being inappropriate with their son. And that's when the victim's mom says that she told Nikki Callaham to back off. But Nikki Callaham allegedly didn't do that. In fact, Callaham is accused of allegedly changing her social media to be able to communicate with this boy. And the boy's mom even claims that Nikki bought an Xbox so she could continue playing video games with her son. And what's even more sick and twisted is the boy's mom claimed in court that Nikki's toddler daughter was allegedly there during sexual encounters that Nikki had with her son before he turned the age of 18. [00:06:56] Speaker 3: I am learning that her daughter was present during some of the abusive incidents, which is another level of sick, demented behavior Nikki exhibited and somehow kept hidden from us. But in a text conversation about me not being able to be fake, Nikki texted me she is a good actress and those skills come in handy. So those are our answers to how she led a double life masked as a mentor of young, impressionable children. Kindergarten teacher and mother of a little girl just trying to get through an unfair season of her life to in reality being sick, twisted, calculating sex offender. [00:07:27] Chris Stewart: Now, this was that information being brought up into court during one of Nikki's first court appearances. This video is per upstate news today. Now, originally Nikki was facing three counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She was then charged in Greenville, South Carolina, different county from Anderson with eight counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and four counts of unlawful conduct towards a child. Callaham resigned as a teacher in May of last year. And this is a document from the State Board of Education that took emergency action in July to suspend her teaching license based on the allegations that she's facing. Now, considering what Callaham is accused of, you might find it shocking that she's out on bond. And in March, her attorney filed a motion to change her bond condition. She had been out on house arrest and she had to have a GPS monitor and she couldn't go to certain areas where her alleged victim frequently went. Then last Friday, Callaham appeared in court for a hearing about the request to loosen her bond. This is that video per Fox Carolina of her appearance, her attorney in court revealing that Callaham was no longer pregnant. She had given birth to a baby in February and Callaham's attorney requested the judge remove her GPS monitor and take her off house arrest. She can't even go around her neighborhood or take a child in the neighborhood to stroll with her newborn baby in the neighborhood. Callaham's attorney also claims that a doctor requested that she have an ankle monitor taken off and it would be for health reasons. Now, Callaham's alleged victim spoke in court once again and this is part of what he had to say. [00:09:16] Grant Strickland: I do not want to minimize anyone's health concerns, but I do not believe personal comfort or convenience should outweigh safety measures that are put in place by this court. The judge also ruled that red [00:09:27] Chris Stewart: zones will remain in place, which are the areas that Callaham is restricted from going to because those are places where her alleged victim regularly visits. Callaham's alleged victim also talked about the long lasting impact that Callaham allegedly had on him. I still lit with the effects of what [00:09:44] Grant Strickland: happened to me every day. One of those effects is the way I give myself my body, food and exercise. Those things, those are the things I continue to work through because of the abuse and manipulation [00:09:55] Chris Stewart: I experienced. The alleged victim has also filed a civil lawsuit against the school district where Callaham used to work as well as the local theater production where she used to be involved in a boarding school for arts in Greenville, South Carolina. That suit claims the victim boarded at the school and they allowed Callaham to allegedly check the victim out of the dorms. The suit claims that theater production is where Callaham groomed the victim and the public school district is named because the suit alleges that the district should have known the inappropriate actions of Callaham and they accused the school district of being negligent because of it. Join us now to talk more about this case from South Carolina is Tyler Bailey, criminal defense attorney, civil rights attorney. Thank you for taking the time to be with us as always here on law and crime. What do you make of the judge's decision lifting the house arrest for Nikki Callaham? [00:10:48] Speaker 4: I'm not surprised. I think that the judge looking at this and seeing that she just gave birth to a newborn child that gave the court something that hanged her hat on and they still have those red zones that prevent her from being areas where the victim frequently occurs. So they believe there's still some safety mechanisms. She's off of house arrest but she still has her GPS monitor on. So I think the court tried to strike a balance that allowed her to at least be more present for her newborn child and her own mental health while this case is still pending. Yeah because you look at this and and you [00:11:21] Chris Stewart: know I think and I'm sure the comments section will have it of you know kind of an eye roll whenever you have restrictions that are lifted for someone who's accused of such concerning crimes and you know this baby did not ask to be born into this current situation you know and all of that I get it. But then I also saw just from some of the reporting out of this hearing that she had like a doctor's note that said you know she'd like to have the GPS monitor taken off because I guess that that would help her with exercise like just your understanding with GPS monitors is that something that ever you know that argument ever actually works I guess when it comes to like a GPS monitor? [00:11:55] Speaker 4: That's not a legitimate excuse to or a legitimate reason for the court to consider removing a GPS monitor so somebody could exercise properly. There's plenty of exercises you can do. You could walk, you could do high knees, you could do a million other things and of course it's uncomfortable. It's meant to be as a mechanism to ensure compliance with the terms of bond. The primary concern is not comfort for exercise so that's kind of an audacious, a little bit of a privilege request and it looks like the court is not going to be inclined to grant that one. I was wondering these cases too where [00:12:30] Chris Stewart: obviously if you're a judge you know you hold that position you want to make the right decision going forward but let's just say the judge for whatever reason said you know no you know we're not going to release her on house arrest you know the judge just you know it made the decision that the entire thing would be denied like how could that impact this case going forward? Is that something that could come into play with like appeals or what would be the repercussions of a wrong decision in something like this? [00:12:57] Speaker 4: Well there will be no repercussions for the court or the judge in denying any requests for modifications in the bond terms. The judge tries to strike a balance of the nature of the defense that they're accused of and other requirements they want to make sure to be compliant so that he could have or she could have denied the entire bond it would be no ramifications. The only thing that can happen from there is the defendant can file a renewed motion for bond modification generally with after six months or if there's been some new information revealed in discovery that would give the court a better reason to modify the terms of the bond but they're not they're not appealable and it's up to the discretion of the judge. And certainly you [00:13:42] Chris Stewart: know there's a it's a unique circumstance where she would be facing these charges but also was pregnant and then now she's a new mom. How does that because I think of cases a very different case but like Elizabeth Holmes who was the Theranos founder like when she was arrested and charged and then she was going to be sentenced like she had a newborn child and that was part of her argument when it came to leniency with the sentencing. Typically how does the court look at a defendant and we still have a long way to go it seems in this case when they have those types of circumstances involving a newborn child? [00:14:12] Speaker 4: It makes them more sympathetic just on the human level but it's really not a bearing of the facts the circumstances of the case. The fact is that you know she's a woman who was pregnant and now she gave birth. That's a human aspect and everybody wants children that have two parents or a parent in their life to take care of them. So the court would of course consider that but that doesn't provide any legitimate mitigation whether she's owned up to some responsibility whether there's some facts that shows that she's not as responsible or culpable you can't come up with those because these facts seem pretty straightforward that she should not been in any type of relationship sexual physical manner with a minor child. So the court looks at it just kind of as a makes the more sympathetic of a witness or of a defendant but it should not be a bearing on the sentencing whether that is for punishment deterrence for other people committing the same crime in the future. [00:15:06] Chris Stewart: When it comes to you know the victim in this case the alleged victim and he has spoken to media members outside of the courthouse I don't know if you've ever you know I've never seen that that I can think of where someone and he is now 18. He alleges the abuse happened when he was 14 years old but he's also shown up to multiple court hearings he gives statements in court. How big of a challenge is it for the defense in this case that you have a victim and I'm not saying that it's right one way or another you know for someone who does not want to be as public I totally get that but in this case what does it mean to the defense that you have a victim that seems very motivated to see justice carried out here? [00:15:49] Speaker 4: It makes the defense's job harder because you know despite how sensitive the allegations of this case is you have a victim who's not scared to stand up and speak out and is very present has been at multiple hearings has spoken publicly to the media and has showed up to speak to the court so the defense has to realize that if this case goes to trial this witness is going to testify and he's already been in front of the people who could be jurors here in the upstate area in the multiple counties where she's been accused of committing these crimes and makes it a little bit more challenging. It does also give them an opportunity to get a feel for what type of testimony they could offer at trial and how this victim would play out in open court and if there's been inconsistent statements they've had they've received a bite at that apple to figure out how they could impeach the witness later on. So I think it causes more challenges because it allows they know they're going to have somebody who's not scared who's not going to be the the state's not going to have to subpoena him and force him to come he's going to willingly comply with a subpoena and he's going to be there to testify [00:16:51] Chris Stewart: against the defendant. Now looking at it seems like it's a complicated legal kind of case at this point because she was facing charges in Anderson County South Carolina and Greenville County South Carolina and both of those cases it appears are still active in those counties as opposed to being merged into one. [00:17:10] Speaker 4: Why do you think that is? Every jurisdiction where the crime was committed the defendant has the right to have their trial there and one and two is up to the jurors ultimately in that venue who would have to make a decision as to whether they believe she is guilty or beyond a reasonable doubt. So every jurisdiction has their their own case here and it more than likely it won't be consolidated if it goes to trial. If it's a plea there could be a situation where she pleads to all counts in one court just for a judicial efficiency because you could have a similar judge who could appear in both Greenville County and Anderson County they may be sitting in one of those counties and they can hear all the cases at the same time. But each you know everybody um every county every elected prosecutor you know wants to make sure they're the law is being forced in their uh their county and they have a right to prosecute her in their county despite her being prosecuted by a neighboring county. [00:18:10] Chris Stewart: And when it comes to kind of the pace at which all of this has been going because you know we've been talking about this case since she turned herself in it was in July of 2025 and then here we are almost one year later and it doesn't appear that there's a trial date that's been set I'm just looking at the Greenville County um public court records online and under uh her case in Greenville where she is facing those charges of criminal sexual conduct with a minor or attempt victim under the age of 16. Um the actions tab shows that she was indicted June 2nd um but still no trial date at this point where are we in terms of kind of the pace at which everything's going? [00:18:49] Speaker 4: Well we now know that this case is going to be at least nine months slower because she was pregnant pregnant during that time and she just gave birth to a newborn so I'm pretty sure her defense counsel was telling the state that she needs time to you know the postpartum time to be there the newborn and if the when she was pregnant she's pregnant she probably could not have participated as much and I will say it always helps a defense a defense lawyer out to have a trial when you're your defendant is pregnant they're more sympathetic witnesses nobody wants to um no jurors are too inclined to actually uh put a pregnant woman in jail so I think that usually helps the defense out I think the state will probably wait until a little bit when it's behind uh the newer days are are in the past for the newborn and it'll probably be resolved I think before this year is over early in 27. But it's not uncommon for cases to take at least a year or so of when they're charged that are as egregious and sensitive as this one and now it's complicated by her pregnancy and you see the defenses they're not they're not scared to use that as a reason to try to modify bond I'm probably sure they won't use they'll use as a reason possibly to delay the trial on this too very very concerning [00:20:04] Chris Stewart: allegations facing um this former teacher and you have this victim and and certainly it's you know he is alleging all of this happened and he's unafraid to talk about it publicly if this were to go to trial and I know there were allegations that she was communicating with him on social media it's unclear like what that record looks like at this point that the state has but if you really have his word and you're the state and it's certainly a strong word like as a defense attorney like how do you approach this and try to counter where you have a victim on the stand but he's someone who may be [00:20:38] Speaker 4: a sympathetic figure to a jury the only way to do it as a defense lawyer is to attack the credibility of the victim if he is going to present testimony at trial because the evidence will likely show that she's text them social media dms or messages to the victim and they've met up places but only them two likely know what happened inside those rooms and so that is the case is going to hinge on the credibility of the victim along with the circumstantial evidence that they're using to prosecute the case and the only i think legitimate way for the defense to find an angle here is one force in the state to prove everything every element to uh to to a point of beyond reasonable doubt and also trying to attack the victim testimony unfortunately uh because he's talked so much use what they can to try to uh make the jurors think that maybe he is embellishing this a little bit more uh than what uh the record is showing and that's the only way they can do it because there's no videos likely there's no photographs likely it's just circumstantial evidence in the uh with the victim's testimony how does a defense lawyer [00:21:46] Chris Stewart: prepare for that because you you want to be able to cross you know a a witness up on cross examination and score points there with the jury like what is the game plan um not to use like sports references but like the game plan going into that of how you approach that line of questioning knowing that it's probably going to be the most pivotal part of a trial it likely will be the most pivotal part of [00:22:10] Speaker 4: the trial his testimony regarding the extent of the relationship that the defendant had with him those meetings and messages are going to be key but what the defense will look to do likely is one dissecting any prior statements that he's made already to the media and to the court any social media stuff that he's put out there in the public comments that he could have made to his friends through hiring a private investigator getting everything that they can and likely what they'll do is if there's any inconsistencies they will attack those inconsistencies first even if the heart of the testimony is 100 accurate if they can make it seem as if this witness lies about some small things maybe they're lying about this major thing it's just little things that they'll try to do to chip chip away at the victim's credibility and the way to prepare for it is use what you have but just you have to think on your feet in trials and criminal trials with no discovery as far as the defendants they're not allowed to take depositions or things of that nature they get the evidence the state has and then they have to be able to think on their feet on the fly for live testimony and when it comes to the civil side of [00:23:19] Chris Stewart: this the family has filed a lawsuit and they've named the school district where she used to work this theater house that she um was the director of i think at some point um i forget her her official title but she was the one who did all the casting and then that's how she came in touch with this alleged victim and then there's a boarding school where uh the alleged victim lived for a period of time and then she would sign him out um is what they accused that boarding school of doing um in in a civil case how does that get you know it's it's i'm sure they're waiting for everything to finish but how does the verdict impact the civil case if there is somehow a not guilty in the criminal side of things like does that wipe away the civil case altogether [00:23:59] Speaker 4: it doesn't wipe away the civil case and there's it makes the civil case a little bit more complex because the civil lawyers if they wanted for example to take the deposition of the defendant here they wouldn't be able to take her deposition because she could essentially just plead the fifth and not really offer much testimony and the civil case is really suing the institutions that were for lack of better words facilitated the access to the victim and pretty much saying they should have more safe guards they should have seen these red flags and they had a duty to prevent this from happening to the victim so i think that is irrespective of whether the actual uh accused is found guilty because there is still the access to questions about the access how she was able to have so much direct contact with a minor child when their parent his parents likely took him to these places thinking he would be safe and thinking that the institutions would have some safeguards where something like this couldn't have happened and the burden of proof is lower the preponderance of the evidence essentially 51 percent versus uh beyond a reasonable doubt which is essentially 99.99 percent depending on [00:25:04] Chris Stewart: who you ask yeah and we'll see what happens next certainly disturbing case here out of south carolina tyler bailey criminal defense attorney civil rights attorney always great to have you on law and crime thanks for being with us thank you that will do it for on the case presented by law and crime subscribe to us on youtube and spotify and we're also now streaming on peacock i'm chris stewart we'll see you next time