A 33-year-old teacher’s aide has been arrested for reportedly having sexual relations with a student, Pickaway County Sheriff's Office confirmed.
Mandy Davis, 33, who worked at Teays Valley West Middle School, has been charged with rape, gross sexual imposition, and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, Crime Online reported.
The criminal complaint states that Davis fostered a sexual relationship with the student between April 26 and May 11 in her Bloomfield, Ohio home, The Daily Mail noted.
According to a press release from the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation started when an employee noticed an “odd relationship between the suspect and the student."
The Teays Valley Local School District has issued a statement and has since fired Davis.
“Since this is a pending personnel matter involving a district employee, our practice is not to publicly discuss the specific facts and circumstances. However, we can confirm that Ms. Davis has been notified that her services are no longer needed by the Board of Education. We take these allegations very seriously and are committed to the safety and well-being of our students as our first priority,” the statement reads.
Ohio law states that adults are prohibited from engaging in sexual behavior with minors. It is also illegal for educators to sleep with underage students, especially those below 16 years of age.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, Davis’ bond has been set at $250,000. If released by the Pickaway County Municipal Court, Davis is required to wear a GPS monitor
She is set to appear in court on May 27.
Earlier this year, a former teacher at the Columbus School for Girls was accused of having a sexual relationship with one of his students, ABC6 wrote.
Steven Pryor was a Spanish teacher at the said school but resigned after allegations arose in October, the school's administration confirmed.
A private law firm has taken over the investigation on behalf of the school. They only found evidence of one relationship.
"Although Mr. Pryor has resigned from CSG, I recognize that this information is very unsettling. The safety of our students is central to all that we do at CSG and any circumstance of sexual misconduct jeopardizes the trust placed in us to protect our students," the school said in a statement.
"Over the course of the past seven years, CSG has put in place many best practices to further enhance the safety of the children entrusted to us. We have reviewed our personnel policies, clarifying and strengthening our expectations for professional conduct; provided mandatory boundaries training for all faculty and staff; created and implemented a curriculum for students about boundaries and consent; enhanced and standardized our hiring process to ensure rigorous background and FBI checks; strengthened our advisory system in the Middle and Upper Schools and provided avenues for reporting any issues of concern; and hired a full-time Director of Counseling and Wellness," Columbus School for Girls Head of School Jennifer Ciccarelli said.
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