Mary Thompson, a 46-year-old former teacher’s aide, has been found guilty of sexually abusing an underage boy. The verdict was reached following a bench trial in Orange County Court in New York
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Thompson, 46, from Montgomery, New York went to trial for two counts each of third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
On Monday, January 29, Judge William DeProspo found her guilty on all counts,
via Record Online:
Prosecutors said Thompson took the victim, a boy under the age of 17, to a hotel room on two occasions in February 2017, where they spent the night and she subjected him to sexual activity. Court records indicate the boy was 16.
District Attorney David Hoovler said that although Thompson worked at the time as a teacher’s aide, her dealings with the boy were unrelated to her job.
“This defendant took advantage of a teenager, and knowingly acted in a manner that she knew would be injurious to his moral welfare,” Hoovler said, calling her conduct “disturbing.”
The presiding judge ordered Thompson to remain in jail without bail until her March 16 sentencing hearing.
This is the latest in a string of teacher sex scandals over the last couple of years. In November, Tennessee teacher Janet Smothers was arrested. Former nutrition teacher LaToya Parker was also arrested for a relationship with a student. Florida teacher Caroline Lawson was charged with sexual assault. 26-year-old Allyson Moran was also arrested for similar crimes. The 23-year-old high school teacher Katherine Ross Ridenhour was also arrested for an inappropriate relationship.
Furthermore, Hunter Day, 22, was also arrested after a sting operation. Megan Kotarski was also arrested on similar charges. Michelle Schiffer, a 23-year-old history teacher in Texas, was also charged and arrested for allegedly having sex with a teenage student. 29-year-old Alyssia Marie Reddy was arrested in Maryland for her crimes in New Jersey. Samantha Fitzgerland, a 28-year-old, was most recently arrested and charged. Jordan Ondish was arrested for her inappropriate relationship with a 19-year-old, while 28-year-old Samantha Fitzpatrick was arrested on similar charges.
Nicole Marie Andrews was arrested as well. 32-year-old Jessica Langford was arrested and charged with sexual assault-related crimes as well. A teacher from Oregon, Andrea Baber, was accused of having a sexual relationship with a student. Robin Dunlap, a teacher in Florida, was arrested for sending illicit photos to a 15-year-old boy in Texas. Teacher and tennis coach Jennifer Olajire-Aro was also charged. 42-year-old Heather Butts of California was arrested on a second-degree felony charge. Nancy Leigh Ann Brann, a former Christian school teacher, was arrested for having sex with a student. Coine Audiat pleaded no contest to having sex with a minor in 2016. 23-year-old Darci Lake was arrested for an inappropriate relationship.
Valeria Costadoni was also arrested due to a relationship with her student. 40-year-old Kisha Nuckols was arrested for having sex with a student, too. Hilary Dattilo, a 30-year-old Ohio high school teacher, has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a female student. 30-year-old Missouri teacher Elizabeth Morgan was also arrested on similar charges. Trisha Anderson Rogers, a 47-year-old former student teacher at a North Carolina middle school was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to soliciting a young student for sex. 39-year-old Texas teacher Marisela Winn was also charged for her relationship with a student. Gabrielle Bauman who admitted to having a relationship with a student was only sentenced to probation. 29-year-old Dori Meyers has denied accusations against her about a relationship with an underage student.
