Lisa Rothwell, a 34-year-old assistant principal in North Carolina, is the latest educator to find themselves in trouble with the law. According to the Gaston Gazette, Rothwell was arrested for having sex and oral sex with a student between April 1 and July 31.
Rothwell is facing six counts of felony sexual activity with a student by a school employee.
According to the report, “sources said the sex acts happened three times in April and three times in July. Each time, there were two sex acts involved. The accuser was a student at the time.”
Rothwell has been employed at Stuart W. Cramer High School since 2014 after receiving her master’s degree from Appalachian State University. She has been working as an assistant principal at the school since 2015.
She is currently being held on a $1 million bond, but is due in court on Monday, October 7 where she will attempt to have her bond decreased.
Since her arrest, Rothwell has been suspended without pay by Gaston County Schools.
Since the beginning of 2019 alone, a handful of teachers have been arrested on similar charges, including 25-year-old substitute teacher Alexis Mercedes Boberg in Baltimore, 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.