Anna Patton, a 22-year-old high school teacher in South Carolina, has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old student. Patton, whose full name is Anna Elizabeth Jeanette Patton, allegedly sent the student suggestive messages and nude photos before the sexual interactions.
The gender of the victim has not been revealed.
Patton, who is an English teacher at Lamar High School, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. She allegedly sent the x-rated messages between October 1, 2019, and January 11.
According to SCNow, Patton has been charged with sexual battery with a student 16 to 17 years of age, disseminating obscene material to a person under 18 years, and criminal solicitation of a minor. She cannot return to school grounds until the investigation has completed.
It's a boy victim, so, she just "had sex" with him instead of raping him . . . .
"Anna Patton charged with sexual battery with a student 16 to 17 years of age; disseminating obscene material to a person under 18 years; criminal solicitation"https://t.co/cumaHMVXIB
— Gender Studies for Men (@JohnDavisJDLLM) January 14, 2020
Over the course of the past year 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.
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.