Cherryville high school teacher charged in sex case

A Cherryville high school teacher has been charged with having sex with a 17-year-old student, according to WBTV.

Warrants issued Tuesday charge Summer Leigh Sparrow, 41, with having sex with the student. Sparrow is an English teacher at Cherryville High School. The student and his parents reported the allegations to Cherryville police in October.

The student said the relationship started on the social media app Snapchat and continued on a daily basis until the exchanges became flirtatious. Sparrow ended up taking the teen to her home, where they engaged in sexual intercourse. Search warrants in the case showed that the student took a nude photo of Sparrow and shared it with his friends on Snapchat.

Police have issued search warrants covering the teacher’s home, computer log history and mobile phone.

Sparrow turned herself in to police Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

The Gaston County school district also is investigating the case as suspected misconduct. School policy prohibits teachers from communicating with students through social media that isn’t controlled by the school without permission from parents.

This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Cherryville high school teacher charged in sex case."