Teacher charged with having sex with 16-year-old student multiple times, SC cops say
A teacher at a South Carolina high school was charged with multiple crimes Monday after authorities said she had sex with a 16-year-old student.
From Oct. 1, 2019 through Jan. 11, 2020, Anna Elizabeth Jeanette Patton committed sexually-related crimes, according to arrest warrants from the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to having sex with the student, the 22-year-old Florence woman sent the teen messages with sexually explicit material, arrest warrants show.
Patton used different social media accounts to send nude images to the student, and also sent texts to entice the teen to have sex, according to arrest warrants.
The combination of evidence and statements made by the teen led to Patton’s arrest, warrants show.
Patton was charged with sexual battery with a student 16 or 17 years of age, no aggravated force or coercion; criminal solicitation of a minor; and disseminating harmful material or exhibiting harmful performance to minors, jail records show.
She was being held at the W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center before being released on a $7,500 bond for the combined charges according to jail records.
The school district said Patton “has been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation,” the Florence Morning News reported.
“The safety of our students is our highest priority,” school district spokesperson Audrey Childers said, according to WPDE. “The district is cooperating with the law enforcement investigation.”
If convicted on the sexual battery charge, Patton faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to South Carolina law.
The most severe penalty for both criminal solicitation of a minor and disseminating harmful material or exhibiting harmful performance to minors charges would be 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine on each count.
This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Teacher charged with having sex with 16-year-old student multiple times, SC cops say."
