Brooke Wright, a former teacher in Ohio, has been indicted for allegedly having sex with a 13-year-old student who she was tutoring, according to WSYX. The allegations came to light in September and she was immediately placed on leave.
She allegedly had sexual encounters with the teenager between May and September of this year.
Wright served as an administrator at Ventures Academy in Delaware, Ohio.
“Her alleged actions represent a betrayal of the trust that students and parents place in us every day,” Educational Service Center of Central Ohio deputy superintendent Mike Trego said in a statement. “When we first learned of these allegations two months ago, we immediately removed her from school property and began cooperating with the investigation into her actions.”
In a statement, prosecutor Ron O’Brien stated, “The inappropriate sexual acts took place in multiple locations in Franklin County and if convicted on these charges, Wright faces numerous years of incarceration as well as registration as a sex offender.”
Wright was indicted on two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
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.
