Sarah Heskin, a 24-year-old teacher in Wisconsin’s Durand-Arkansaw School District, has been arrested and charged for allegedly having an “inappropriate relationship” with an underage student.
Heskin, an English teacher, has been accused of sending topless photos and videos to a 14-year-old eighth-grade student.
Following her arrest on Thursday, May 2, Heskin was taken to the Pepin County Jail and charged with using a computer to facilitate a sex crime. After her initial court appearance on Friday, May 3, Heskin was reportedly released from police custody on a $10,000 bond.
According to the Durand Police Department, the Durand-Arkansaw School District is cooperating with the investigation and that there are no other victims.
Wisconsin authorities have not provided any further information at this time.
Heskin is just one of many education officials to be arrested and charged for inappropriate contact with an underage student in recent years.
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 teachers Meredith Null and Edna Longoria were arrested on similar charges.
As for why the number of these incidents has seemingly increased, 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.
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 at any time. If there is anything that we missed, please feel free to send an email to editor@teamcoed.com and we will respond as soon as possible.