During her time as an educator, a Texas instructor admitted to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old pupil.
Details of the Incident
Emily Marie Anderson, 35, was arrested in August 2021 and charged with sexually abusing a child, a second-degree offense. She was detained once more in December 2021 and accused of engaging in criminal improper contact with a student.
Authorities began investigating Anderson after learning from the victim’s mother that she had discovered sexually explicit texts on her son’s phone, according to KSAT-TV. An investigation led to the identification of the sender of the texts as Anderson, a special education teacher at Canyon High School in New Braunfels, Texas.
Anderson told police that she had intercourse with the victim in a biology classroom closet, according to the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. He had just turned fifteen.
Anderson pleaded guilty to the charges on Monday. According to PEOPLE, she will have to serve 60 days in jail during the length of her ten-year probation. She also has to pay a $2,000 fine and complete 500 hours of community service.
According to the terms of the agreement, Anderson will spend the rest of her life registering as a sex offender. The judge also requested a protective order barring her from contacting the victim.
Victim’s Mother
During Monday’s court proceedings, the victim’s mother claimed to Anderson that her son now suffers from anxiety and despair.
According to the Herald-Zeitung, the mother reportedly stated, “I trusted you.” “You understood the struggles we were facing and you knew he was falling behind in school,” she said.
“My [instinct] was to go and fetch you out of that school and deal with you myself when I read those texts — when I looked through that phone,” she said.
Anderson didn’t speak to the judge when she was being sentenced. Her lawyer did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment right away.
Text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 for those who know has experienced sexual abuse to speak with a trained crisis counselor.
