A former high school teacher in Jasper County, Missouri has reportedly had a charge of alleged sexual contact with a student dismissed after she married him.
Baylee Turner, 26, was charged in February 2019 with having sexual contact with a male student after the case was investigated by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department, The Joplin Globe reported.
Ms Turner was in her first year of teaching English at Sarcoxie High School when she faced allegations that she had had sex with a student in January 2019, prompting her resignation.
Before starting to work at the high school, she had taught the middle school in the school district for two years.
The Sarcoxie School Board then voted to petition the state of Missouri to revoke her teaching licence.
Assistant Prosecutor Nate Dally told the paper that the charge against Ms Turner was dismissed after she married the student. Ms Dally said marital or spousal privilege means that the student cannot be compelled to testify against Ms Turner, making it very difficult to prove the case in court.
Ms Dally said Ms Turner had surrendered her teaching licence, which was the top concern for the office of the prosecutor.
The probable-cause affidavit filed in Ms Turner’s case didn’t specify the age of the student she married.
Missouri statutes outlaw sexual contact between a student and an employee of the school district, including volunteers and officials, regardless of whether they are elected or appointed and regardless of whether the student is a minor or has passed the age for consensual sex.
Six young teachers have been accused of having sexual contact with a student in Southwest Missouri in recent years, according to The Globe.
Teachers and student teachers have also faced similar charges in Joplin, Webb City, Monett, Diamond and McDonald counties.
