Ringgold counselor charged with sex crimes

It seems like every week we pick up the newspaper in Pittsburgh to read about another teacher or school staff member facing charges for sex crimes. Teacher/student relationships have always been a serious topic; however, with the advent of social media and text messaging, it seems like the problem has exponentially increased. I’m not one to believe that all of a sudden teachers have just started having relationships with students; I’m more inclined to think that the digital age we live in has just made the rest of us much more aware of what’s going on. And while I would never condone a teacher/student relationship, I do believe there are circumstances where we cannot find total blame with educators, as they fully believe that they were in a “relationship” with the “victim.” This most recent story seems to me like one of those circumstances. On Wednesday, former Ringgold High School guidance counselor was accused of having sex with a student while she worked for the district. The 33-year-old Rostraver woman has been charged with four counts of institutional sexual assault. She was arrested Thursday morning at her home. Police say she was cooperative, so they let her make arrangements to have her two young children taken care of before she was taken. According to the affidavit, the suspect met the 18-year-old victim twice to have sex in the fall at a park-and-ride at the intersection of State Route 201 and Pricedale Road. The affidavit shows the first encounter happened in the parking lot on a weekend in November. The second encounter took place a week later. The alleged victim told police that the relationship started when he approached the suspect to talk about girl problems before the start of the 2014-2015 school year. He told police that the two of them spoke nearly every day via text message and began getting intimate in September and October. The suspect was held on $50,000 bond and released after 10% was paid. She is scheduled to appear before a judge at 10:45 a.m. on 29 May for a preliminary hearing. If you have been charged with sex crimes, call Pittsburgh sex crimes attorney Gary Gerson today for a free consultation at 412-219-6875. Source: TribLive.com, “Former Ringgold guidance counselor facing sex charges” 21 May 2015