A married, 53-year-old consumer and family science high school teacher lost her career and her freedom after her affair with a 14-year-old boy became public knowledge. News sources reported the child was the friend of one of the teacher’s relatives, not one of her students.
Grooming, solicitation, indecent solicitation of a child via the internet, aggravated criminal sexual abuse are not terms anyone expects to see associated with a teacher. Neither would you expect to hear that a teacher exchanged nude photos with a young boy.
News sources reported the 13-year-veteran teacher showered the boy with gifts and furthered their sexual relationship at hotels, her home and in her car.
The police arrested the teacher shortly after the teacher confided in and texted one of her students about the affair. She told the student,
“It’s horrible. I can go to jail.”
Rather than go to trial, the ex-teacher pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography. A federal judge sentenced her to over five years in prison, followed by five years of parole. #sexcrime #schoolteacherheadstoprison
In a sentencing memorandum, a U.S. Attorney associated with the case said about the defendant,
“Her offense was not a one-time lapse in judgement, but an ongoing pattern of criminal activity,”
the attorney continued,
“Knowing full well that what she was doing was both reprehensible and criminal, she repeatedly victimized a child who trusted her.”
If you know a victim of sexual exploitation, please contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to www.missingkids.com or by calling 1-800-843-5678. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Source: United States Department of Justice, Illinois State Board of Education, Daily Journal – Kankakee, Illinois, ABC News Channel 20, Chicago Tribune