by A North Carolina math teacher was arrested after being accused of having sex with three male students.
Erin Elizabeth McAuliffe was taken in custody after a police investigation concluded that she had sexual relationships with two 17-year-old students and one 16-year-old student. She was charged with three counts of sexual activity with a student and one count of indecent liberties with a minor.
Rocky Mount Preparatory School, where McAuliffe worked until the investigation began on May 4, acknowledged the scandal in a statement to WNCN.
“We have been fully cooperative with local law enforcement during the course of their handling of this matter,” the statement read.
The encounters reportedly took place outside of school grounds.
“I was really surprised,” parent Felicia Russel told WNCN. “I thought that women teachers were getting smarter and better.”
“It’s very shocking and appalling that a person would do that with a student,” former student Dayvon Steel said.
McAuliffe was held on $20,000 bond before she reportedly was bailed out.
Photo Credit: Facebook via Daily Mail, Rocky Mount Police via Daily Mail
Many readers expressed shock over the incident.
“Teachers ought to be 40+ years old before they can teach pupils 12 years old and over,” one Daily Mail reader commented.
“What is with these women?” another added.
In another story of crime in the classroom, an Indiana teacher was arrested and charged after students videotaped her snorting drugs at school.
Samantha Cox, 24, was allegedly seen snorting powder in the corner of the classroom where she worked, prompting students to notify school officials. Police then arrived, entering the classroom and escorting Cox away. The powder was supposedly a mix of cocaine and heroin.
“She tried to hide herself,” student John Rogers, who filmed the incident, told WBBM. “She wasn’t at her desk where we could see her. She was all the way in the corner where she thought we can’t see her.”
“It is like a serious thing. A lot of people can get addicted to a lot of things, and something like this is, it’s very heartbreaking,” another student, Michael Sanchez, added.
Photo Credit: Facebook via Daily Mail, Rocky Mount Police via Daily Mail
Police Chief James Kveton told WBBM in a statement that the students displayed “a tremendous amount of fortitude and integrity” by going to the principal with what they witnessed.
In a call to parents, the school’s superintendent Larry Veracco said that authorities and school officials took “swift and forceful action,” and that the students’ safety “remains the top priority of our school staff.”
Cox was charged with felony drug possession, as well as misdemeanor paraphernalia charges.
