Needless to say, teachers have a difficult job. They are responsible for not only teaching their students, but providing a source of trust and friendship. Unfortunately, being in that position of trust makes them vulnerable to accusations of ethical lines being crossed. In South Carolina, allegations of crossing these lines — particularly if these accusations relate to sexual assault — are taken very seriously by school officials and local law enforcement.
Being charged with sexual contact with a student can not only crush a teacher’s professional career, but also their family life. Recently, a teacher at a local high school in Berkeley County has been charged with sexual assault and battery against not just one, but three students. Two of these students were underage at the time, so two of the three charges are felony counts. While the third individual was 18 at the time of the supposed crime, it is still illegal for teachers to have sexual relationships with students, therefore warranting the third sexual battery charge.
This teacher is a 29-year-old female and mother of three children. She has been placed on administrative leave and has been banned from the school campus. If convicted of these charges, she is facing serious consequences, including prison time among others.
Sexual assault of a minor is not taken lightly in South Carolina. Those facing such allegations chance life-altering consequences; in this case those would include the loss of professional standing, loss of family life and time behind bars, among others. Those accused of performing sex-related crimes do have the right to employ a criminal defense in order to combat the charges and garner the best possible outcome to their specific circumstances.
Source: New York Daily News, “S.C. teacher accused of having ‘multiple’ acts of sex with three students in one day“, Deborah Hastings, May 10, 2014