A Richmond County middle school teacher has been charged after reports that she allegedly carried on a sexual relationship with a male student.

Rumah Byrapaka, 24, of Evans was arrested Thursday on charges of child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes, according to Richmond County Sheriff’s Office booking records. She is booked at the Charles B. Webster Center in Augusta.

Byrapaka has been a teacher at Hephzibah Middle for two years, according to the Richmond County Board of Education website. She is also a full-time graduate student at Augusta University. Byrapaka teaches physical science and American government at the middle school.

A parent of Byrapaka's 13-year-old student said her son reported an alleged relationship with the teacher, Richmond County School System officials told the Augusta Chronicle. The Richmond County Sheriff's Office and RCBOE police investigated the claims Wednesday, which led to Thursday's arrest.

The Evans woman has been placed on paid administrative leave, according to the school system.

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Orange Crush event organizer Steven Smalls looks out at Tybee Island's South Beach, site of the 2025 HBCU spring break festival scheduled for April 19 on Georgia's coast. (Justin Taylor/The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

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