An English teacher who taught at a North Dakota high school was charged on Aug. 22 after being accused of having sex with a female high school student more than five years ago. According to the press release, the alleged incidents occurred in February or March of 2009.
School district officials were notified about the investigation into the allegations on Feb. 14. The teacher was placed on paid administrative leave; the superintendent later recommended that the man be placed on unpaid suspension following the filing of the charges. The authorities alleged that a 17-year-old girl was involved and that the separate incidents took place in the teacher’s classroom, at the man’s home and in the student’s vehicle.
The teacher’s attorney stated that the allegations against his client were untrue and that he had passed a lie-detector test. The attorney also said that, since so much time has passed, it would be much more difficult for his client to defend himself. The superintendent of the school at which the teacher worked did not provide any comments on the allegations against the man. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 5.
Being accused of sex crimes can not only result in serious legal consequences if the person is convicted, but might also damage the person’s reputation and make it difficult to find employment or even a place to live. An attorney might be able to assist their client by providing evidence such as alibis that show that they were not involved in the alleged incident or seek to otherwise mitigate the fallout.
Source: TwinCities.com, “North Dakota teacher charged with having sex with student”, Dave Kolpack, August 23, 2014
