This case is a little ridiculous:
A North Carolina teacher’s assistant is facing charges after she allegedly had sex with an 18-year-old student.
Twenty-two-year-old Heather Shelton is accused of having a sexual relationship with a high school senior at the school she worked at, North Buncombe High School.
What’s ridiculous is that Shelton didn’t meet the guy at the school, she didn’t teach him, and he’s of legal age. How is this against the law? He’s 18!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
This case will likely face a constitutional challenge. Although the school system has the right to terminate her employment based upon internal policy (no sex with students), the criminal charges seem to be on shaky ground.
The criminal charges are based on the following North Carolina statute:
“If a defendant, who is a teacher, school administrator, student teacher, school safety officer, or coach, at any age, or who is other school personnel, and who is at least four years older than the victim engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with a victim who is a student, at any time during or after the time the defendant and victim were present together in the same school, but before the victim ceases to be a student, the defendant is guilty of a Class G felony, except when the defendant is lawfully married to the student. The term “same school” means a school at which the student is enrolled and the defendant is employed, assigned, or volunteers. A defendant who is school personnel, other than a teacher, school administrator, student teacher, school safety officer, or coach, and is less than four years older than the victim and engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with a victim who is a student, is guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor. This subsection shall apply unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing for greater punishment. Consent is not a defense to a charge under this section.”
A constitutional challenge to the statute would most likely fail because the state has a legitimate interest in protecting students from sexual pressures brought on by persons in positions of trust (e.g. teachers).
What a rediculous waste of time and money and people’s lives………..it’s unbelievable that no common sense exists at this state/town/school district…
If anything comes out of this, she will get a slap on the wrist, fired, and life will move on.
No matter what the law says. This action wasn’t done as someone in a position of trust. It was a mutual relationship.
The only covering factor is that she is a teacher, and he is a student.
The fact that she wasn’t his teacher, it wasn’t a relationship born through the school, will most likely create a pretty shaky case. A decent possible defense would be “I didn’t know she was a teacher!” or, “I didn’t know he was a student!”
He is 18, he is of consenting age. And he hooked himself a hottie, who just happened to be a teacher. If only I could be so unlucky.
Hello,
Thank you all that supported me. I just wanted to give an update on my situation….the District Attorney dismissed all charges against me this past month. It was because of lack of evidence and the student not willing to testify against me. The reason I had to wait so long for justice was because all of the national media attention my case received. I still have my teaching license and as someone said, life moved on. It was interesting, however, to see the reaction that my case drew in. The Myspace page I had took 57,000 hits in 4 days!! Looking back on that…it is very surreal to me that the person was actually me. It was almost like having an out-of-body experience.
Actually, student was 19 at the time of the incident therefore there was not even a 4 year gap between their ages.
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With all do respect to the state law, I read an article about the case and I felt that was outrageous. Thank you Heather for your post. It was really a relief.