Abuse Charge Against Teacher Dropped After She Marries Underage Student She Allegedly Had Sex With

A teacher from Missouri who has been accused of sexual activity with a student of hers found the charges against her dropped on Tuesday, Feb. 1, after the former instructor was reportedly able to marry the victim before she could be prosecuted for her crimes.

Twenty-six-year-old Baylee A. Turner was charged with having sex with one of her underage students in Sarcoxie High School in Missouri. An English teacher at the time of the accusations, she reportedly had intercourse with the minor in January 2019. The school's administration subsequently forced her to resign from her position after the allegations surfaced, Joplin Globe reported.

The Sarcoxie High School board also, after much deliberation and pressure on their part, petitioned the state of Missouri to revoke Turner’s teaching license so that she would be unable to teach at another school again.

Nate Dally, a prosecutor for the Jasper County, said that the case has been dismissed due to the fact that Turner married the student with whom she allegedly had sexual relations, thus putting him under spousal privilege where he cannot be compelled to testify against Turner, according to the Kansas City Star.

However, Dally said that Turner voluntarily surrendered her teaching license, so the state’s primary concern–that Turner might continue teaching and therefore have the incident happen again–was alleviated.

The state has not reported any plans to pursue further charges against Turner.

In recent years, the cases of teachers having sexual relations with students have increased in Missouri. Turner is one of six educators accused of the crime in recent years, with multiple school districts facing similar problems with their faculty and student body.

Missouri state law says that school employees, volunteers, and officials are not allowed to have sexual relations with the students even if they are consenting adults or are able to consent with the act. The age and name of the student have not been revealed to the public.