Kelsie Koepke, a 25-year-old teacher in Katy, Texas, has been arrested and charged after she allegedly sent explicit sexual Snapchat videos to an underage male student.
According to police, Koepke and the unidentified student first exchanged Snapchat information in October 2017. After that initial exchange of Snapchat information, Koepke eventually began sending the teen nude photos and videos of herself.
Using the Snapchat usernames “kelsie_koepke” and “Momma K”, Koepke allegedly instructed the unidentified teen “not to save any of their chats.”
When interviewed by investigators, Koepke claimed that she had “mistaken” the teen for “someone she had met on a dating site.”
Koepke — who was a teacher at Paetow High School — has been charged with having an improper relationship with a student.
Following her arrest, Koepke’s bond was set for $30,000 and she is due back in court on Tuesday, May 7.
Koepke is just the latest in a string of education officials to be arrested and charged for sex-related crimes.
Since the beginning of 2019 alone, a handful of teachers have been arrested on similar charges, 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. Additionally, Texas teacher Meredith Null was arrested on similar charges.
As for why there has been an increase in teacher’s being charged with sex-related crimes over recent years, studies suggest that smartphones are the primary reason for the spike in illicit relationships, as it allows teachers to communicate with the minors without supervision.
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.
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