Authorities say a teacher in Shelby, North Carolina, turned herself in after being accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl who attended the school.
The Shelby Star reported that Emma Costner, 25, was a teacher at Crest High School. She turned herself in Wednesday and was charged with two counts of sex with a student after an investigation by the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office.
The investigation, which lasted a week, started when a student's parents came forward, according to Jon Wright with the Sheriff's Office.
“About a week ago, we received notification from the victim’s parents. They suspected their daughter was having an inappropriate relationship with a member of the Crest High School staff,” Wright said, adding that there is no evidence anything related to the incident happened at school and no other students were involved. He also said the victim is doing OK.
“These are very serious allegations. We send our kids to school to get an education, to learn to be adults in the world and we don’t expect teachers to prey on those children or exploit those relationships with the children,” Wright said.
Costner was a math teacher at Crest High School since August 2017. She resigned Sept. 25.
Cleveland County Schools spokesman Greg Shull said the following in a statement:
“We appreciate the work of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department as they conducted a thorough investigation regarding the former employee. We are fortunate to have dedicated law enforcement agencies in Cleveland County and appreciate their support in ensuring the safety of our schools.”
Costner was released on $10,000 bond.
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