The advent of social media has made allegations of inappropriate affairs between a teacher and student more common than ever. Parents can sometimes become concerned that learners and teachers are communicating too often or that their communications are inappropriate based upon their relationship. As a result, it is not unusual for educators to find themselves being falsely accused of misconduct.
Teachers can be considered to have a salacious relationship with a pupil even if that individual is over the age of 18. Unjust student-teacher communication can also occur even when schoolchildren do not take classes taught by a certain educator. Sexual misconduct does not have to occur, but is nonetheless an accusation in the majority of the cases.
Allegations of inappropriate teacher-student relationships can result in a number of crimes including:
These crimes involve penalties that can include jail time, probation, fines and mandatory sex offender counseling. In some cases, individuals could be required to submit to lifetime sex offender registry and be banned from working with juveniles in the future. As a result, those who are accused of having improper relations with a schoolchild or protege should get legal assistance from a qualified attorney.
According to the Texas Penal Code, there are a couple of affirmative defenses that can be used whenever individuals are charged with this sexual offense. First, people cannot be charged with misconduct whenever they are married to the “victim” in question. Also, if the two were romantically involved before the suspect began working at the school, their union is OK as long as the age difference is no more than three years.
Meet with attorney Brett A. Podolsky to learn more about the defense options for your case.
