$500,000 bond set for teacher charged with sex crimes

OZARK, Ala. (WTVY) -Bond has been set at $500,000 for a Wallace College teacher facing 40 sex charges involving a child.

Kimberly Sonanstine, 38, showed no emotion during a hearing on Wednesday when Dale County Circuit Judge Stanley Garner also appointed her two attorneys.

She faces 30 Sexual Abuse counts, eight charges of Sodomy, and two counts of Traveling to Meet a Child for a Sex Act.

Official information regarding the case has been limited to a brief statement from investigators.

“On Tuesday, Oct. 5, Special Agents with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) executed a search warrant at a residence in Ozark and arrested Kimberly Sonanstine,” ALEA said in that statement.

However, sources familiar with the case tell GRAY TV station WTVY in Dothan the molestation is alleged to have occurred in the distant past but reported only recently.

Solanstine, a biology teacher at the Dothan community college, has been relieved of her duties.

“As of October 6, 2021, Kimberly Sonanstine is no longer employed at (Wallace) College.” the school said Wednesday night in an updated statement.

If she posts bond Solanstine, a wife and mother of two, is to have no contact with the alleged victim or her family, Garner ordered.

As of Wednesday night, Solanstine had not posted bond.

This story updated to reflect Sonanstine is no longer an employee of Wallace College.

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