Joanna Atilano, a 38-year-old teacher at Fabens High School in Texas, has been arrested and charged for allegedly having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a teenage student.
According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, an investigation into Atilano found that she allegedly engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a student on Thursday, January 17.
Through the investigation, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office found evidence that showed Atilano exposing herself during a video phone call on Facebook Messenger. Furthermore, court documents indicate that Atilano also inappropriately touched the victim.
Following Atilano’s arrest, Fabens ISD Interim Superintend Michele Gonzalez released a statement that said Atilano has been placed on paid leave during the course of the investigation.
“The employee is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The district is working with law enforcement during this investigation,” Gonzalez’s statement read.
Following her arrest on Monday, January 28, Atilano was taken to the El Paso County Detention Facility where she was being held on a $10,000 bond.
Atilano is just the latest in a long line of school teachers or administrators to be arrested or charges for inappropriate or sexual relationships with teenage students.
Including Atilano, a handful of teachers have been arrested on similar charges during the month of January alone, including Beulah High School teacher Kelsie Schmidt in North Dakota, Rancocas Valley Regional High School teacher Alexandra Reiner in New Jersey, and 50-year-old Florida substitute teacher Angela Jean Stanton in Florida.
As for why there has been such a significant increase in instances of teachers having inappropriate relationships with students, researchers believe that technology is to blame.
According to a report from the Texas Education Association, smartphones make easy for teachers to privately text and talk with students and also make it possible for teachers and students to share explicit images.
That is all the information that is available at this time. This article will be updated with new and relevant information should it become available.