Joyce Churchwell, a 40-year-old married teacher and mother of two from Oklahoma, has been arrested for raping a male student along with another female teacher. Churchwell is also accused of sending nude photos and sexually explicit videos to the student, according to News on 6.
Churchwell has been charged with first-degree rape, but the other woman has not been charged.
The incident allegedly occurred during the 2018-2019 school year.
“The Berryhill School District takes the safety of its students very seriously and does everything it can to provide a safe learning environment,” the school said in a statement. “The district is currently cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation of these allegations and will take appropriate action when the investigation is completed.”
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.
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