Unwanted lesson: Oklahoma teacher faces charges of sex

with student
A former Hollis, Oklahoma, teacher is the latest to be accused of inappropriate sexual contact with a student.
by Jennifer

Palmer (/more/Jennifer Palmer) (?rel=author) Modified: August 17, 2014 at 10:00 pm Published: August 17, 2014

HOLLIS Oklahoma investigators already were looking into allegations that teacher Jennifer Sexton was having sex with one of her
students when she resigned from Hollis Middle School in April.
On June 18 650 miles away in Olive Branch, Miss. the 28-year-old English teacher
was arrested on suspicion of statutory rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor
after police found her and the student, a 15-year-old boy, in a Best Western hotel room.
The boy was on summer break visiting his mother when he hopped the fence of a church
parking lot, where Sexton waited in her sport utility vehicle.
Sextons Mississippi arrest led Oklahoma prosecutors to re-evaluate the earlier allegations.
On Thursday, Sexton was charged in Harmon County District Court with three counts of
second-degree rape, two counts of enticing a child, and one count of forcible sodomy. On
Friday morning, she turned herself in at the Harmon County jail and was released later in
the day after posting $100,000 bail.
Before the Mississippi arrest, the only evidence Harmon County Assistant District
Attorney Eric Yarborough said he had against Sexton was peoples suspicions.
Things that raised kind of an eyebrow. People seeing a teacher alone with a child may or
may not be anything. It could just be innocent contact, Yarborough said. The child said
nothings going on, shes just a nice teacher.
(/gallery/articleid/5243481/1/pictures/3287692)
Former teacher Jennifer Sexton, shown after her June 18 arrest in
Mississippi. Photo provided

After Mississippi, the case changed. The boy, whose identity is being withheld because he
is a victim of sexual abuse, spoke to investigators with consent from a parent, court
records show.

The student described how, three days before she quit her teaching job, Sexton had sex with him in the back of her classroom. In the
weeks that followed, Sexton picked up the student numerous times in her SUV and drove to a secluded area. They had sex in her car, her
house and the home of his father a pastor.
During the same time period, Sexton filed for divorce from her husband. On May 13, a Harmon County judge granted the divorce and a
name change. As of June 1, Sextons name was restored to Jennifer Caswell, her maiden name.
The Oklahoman could not locate a working phone number for Caswell. Her attorney could not be reached for comment Friday.
Another case
In nearby Tillman County, authorities recently charged another teacher with three counts of second-degree rape involving a student.
Laura Cowan, who started teaching in 2010 and most recently worked at Tipton Public Schools, resigned April 15.
Cowan, 34, was arrested and charged July 23. She has since been released on a $150,000 bond. Investigators say she admitted to having
sex with two of her Tipton High School students in various locations, including in her classroom, in her car and in a motel room in
Frederick. Cowan could not be reached. Her attorney declined comment.
Social media exploited
Nationally, since Jan. 1 there have been at least 275 teachers arrested for sexual offenses or child pornography, according to
S.E.S.A.M.E. (Stop Educator Sexual Abuse Misconduct & Exploitation), a Las Vegas-based organization that works to prevent the sexual
exploitation, abuse, and harassment of students by teachers and other school staff.
S.E.S.A.M.E. President Terri Miller said parents, teachers, staff and students need to be aware of warning signs, such as incessant
texting, that can be early signs of abuse.
If everyone around the child has their eyes open to the grooming behaviors, then that child can be spared before abuse occurs, Miller
said.
A 2014 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office pointed to the growing use of social messaging sites like Facebook that,

A 2014 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office pointed to the growing use of social messaging sites like Facebook that,
while convenient, can lead to inappropriate interactions between educators and students. Some schools have policies forbidding
teachers from connecting with students on social media.
Caswell was Facebook friends with her former student, and contacted his mother through a private message asking to see him over the
summer.
The mother turned over screen shots of the messages to investigators.
Cowans inappropriate contact with students were first reported to the superintendent as a violation of the Tipton districts social media
policy.
Teacher misconduct
The state Board of Education typically revokes the teaching privileges of those charged with serious crimes.
As of Friday, the board had yet to receive official notice of the charges against Cowan and Caswell and both remained certified. So far
this year, at least four teachers and a bus driver have been charged with sex crimes, and all had their licenses revoked, an Education
Department spokeswoman said.
They include:
Tyrone Nash, a 35-year-old teacher and coach at Western Heights Public Schools convicted of ten charges involving inappropriate
sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl. Hes appealing his conviction;
Kalyn Thompson, a 25-year-old English teacher at Kellyville High School accused of having sex with her 18-year-old student;
Jerry Dean Dawson, a 74-year-old bus driver for Putnam City Schools convicted of lewd acts with a 15-year-old special needs student;
Tyler Lee Patterson, a 28-year-old teacher and coach in Adair County accused of inappropriate sexual contact with an underage girl;
Mandi Guerrero, a 36-year-old teacher at Stroud Public Schools who pleaded guilty to stalking a 15-year-old girl.
In 2013, the state Legislature passed a law requiring district attorneys to notify the state Board of Education when a teacher or school
employee was charged with a felony or violent misdemeanor or when a school employee was convicted of a sex crime.
A state Education Department official said the notification requirement is largely ineffective. In many instances, the board only learns of
such cases through media reports.
A related bill this year would have required school districts to notify the board within 30 days of a teacher being dismissed or resigning
for sexual misconduct. It didnt pass.
Thats not an appropriate way to ensure the students are being taught by folks that have their best interests at heart, said Education
Department Chief of Staff Joel Robison.

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