Rikki Lyn Laughlin.Photo:MARIES COUNTY SHERIFF
MARIES COUNTY SHERIFF
A Missouri teacher was arrested on allegations of sending illicit videos and photos to an underage student.
According to the probable cause statement, a detective interviewed the teenage boy, who alleged that Laughlin had reached out to him on Snapchat and sent him nude photos and videos of herself, per the outlet. He also told the detective that she asked him to also send nude photos of himself, which he also did, according to the probable cause statement.
The teen also told the detective that Laughlin had asked him to delete the photos and videos because other people at school were talking about them and she could go to jail for it, according to authorities.
The detective then interviewed Laughlin, who allegedly admitted that she had been talking with the student over Snapchat, but claimed that he had initiated the conversation and that she had not been “aware” that he was a minor until the day before, according to authorities.
She also gave consent to hand over her cell phone to be searched, and the detective found an illicit video on her phone similar to what the student described, according to authorities.
She was also accused in the probable cause statement, per theRiverfront Times, of inviting the teenager to her home to have sex while her husband was out of town, which the student allegedly turned down “because he did not feel comfortable," according to the statement.
Laughlin was arrested and charged with six felony sex crimes, which included promoting obscenity in the first degree, furnishing pornographic material to a minor, attempted statutory rape in the second degree, tampering with a witness, possession of child pornography, and tampering with physical evidence, according to KMOV4.
The Maries County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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The school’s district Superintendent Tim Webster did not name Laughlin, but confirmed to the outlet that one of their teachers was “immediately escorted from school property and placed on leave pending investigation.”
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
