Lindsey Noele Thorson, a 27-year-old teacher’s aide at Fieldston Preparatory School in Florida, has been busted for allegedly sexting a 16-year-old special needs student. According to the report, Thorson was busted after a parent of another student informed authorities of the allegations.
Thorson is alleged to have sent explicit photos and videos to the student on Instagram.
“This case provides an important reminder that school officials, by law, are mandatory reporters of suspected abuse, regardless of whether they believe the allegations or not,” Det. Jessica Cabrera wrote in a statement, via Florida Today.
She was arrested on charges of transmission of material to minors and tampering with evidence, according to WESH.
Thorson has since been fired from the K-12 school.
“We provided our full cooperation during the investigation,” school principal Cindy Colletti said. “It is our understanding that the police have concluded their investigation.”
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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