Laura Lynn Cross, a 36-year-old Ohio teacher has been accused of having a sexual relationship with one of her students that resulted in her giving birth to his child.
Cross, 36, allegedly started grooming the boy when she was his eighth grade English teacher at Buchtel High School in Akron in 2012. The alleged sexual abuse occurred from August 2013 to September 2016.
Cross, who taught at Buchtel High School as an English teacher, resigned from her teaching position in January 2015.
via News 5 Cleveland:
Cross convinced the teen’s mother–who had custody–to allow the teen to move in with her in her Tallmadge home through a court approved “partial parental custody” arrangement. Cross convinced the teen’s mother that she could continue to “mentor” him.
Charges were filed only last week after police learned that Cross and the teen had a child together in 2015 that was kept secret until a tipster called the teen’s father and broke the news.
An Akron School System spokesperson said the district was unaware of the case until our investigation alerted them but said it is now “doing our own internal investigation going back to 2012 to determine what exactly happened and when it happened”
Speaking to News5 Cleveland, the teen’s father said he first raised concerns to Buchtel High School officials and Tallmadge Police in 2012 during his son’s freshman year, however, no charges were filed at the time.
Charges were officially filed last week when police found out that Cross had a child with the unidentified teen.
After resigning, Cross convinced the teen’s mother, who reportedly had custody, to allow him to move in with her through a court-approved “partial parental custody” arraignment.
Cross is currently being held in the Summit County Jail under $100,000 bond.
