According to the US COED.com website on April 14, a female American teacher was arrested for suspected sexual intercourse with a minor student.
22-year-old Lyndsey Sherrod Bates was a teacher in Madison County, Alabama. On Friday, April 12, she was arrested on suspicion of having sex with a minor student.
Bates was arrested and taken to Madison County Jail and formally charged with having sex with a student under the age of 19, a felony in Alabama.
In addition, Bates is also accused of sending vulgar messages to a student.
Bates was detained on bail on $32,000. Bates later resigned from his position as a teacher at Madison County High School.
Police said that since the victims are minors, their identities will not be disclosed.
After investigation, the police also learned the following information
1. Bates' father-in-law is the deputy director of the Madison County Sheriff's Office
Bates is the daughter-in-law of Stacy Bates, deputy director of the Madison County Sheriff's Office. Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner said in a statement that “as soon as we noticed these allegations, the Sheriff’s Office began an investigation and Sheriff Bates never participated.” Matt Massey, the head of Madison County School, told the media that Bates began teaching at Madison County High School at the beginning of the 2018 school year. She has resigned and the school district is fully cooperating with the investigation.
2. Bates is a special education teacher at Madison County High School
Bates is a teacher at the school and has also coached the school's youth team and school volleyball team. Bates' mother is active in Madison Christian Church. Bates graduated from Athens Bible College in 2015 and from Auburn University in 2018. Bates’ major is special education.
3.Bates got married in May 2018, and her husband is also engaged in law enforcement
May 10, 2018, Lindesey Sherold Bates married Drew Bates. Drew Bates' father was Stacey Bates. Drew also works in law enforcement. According to official information, his father has served as chief deputy sheriff since January 2019, and was a former police officer at the Athens Police Department and a lieutenant at the Huntsville Police Department.
In U.S. states , there are many cases where teachers are prosecuted for abuse of students. In November 2016, Texas representative Tony Dale tried to pass a bill that, as Dell said, would prevent teachers from resigning and moving.
Dell said of his legislation: "The bill adds penalties and plugs loopholes so that educators who engage in ill-got relationships cannot resign and find employment in another area. This bill tries to give Texas the tools we need to get rid of teachers who bully our children."
It is also reported that in 2006, female educators accounted for 4% of convicted rapists. In 2016, former Director of the Education Department's Office Terry Abbott wrote in the Washington Post that sexual assault cases of teachers are on the rise. For example, in Kentucky , the number of such allegations almost doubled.
Several teachers have been arrested on similar charges since early 2019 alone, including Kelsie Schmidt, a high school teacher in , North Dakota, Alexandra Reiner, a high school teacher in , New Jersey, and Angela Jean Stanton, a substitute teacher in , Florida.
As for why teachers have been accused of sexually related crimes in recent years, research shows that smartphones are the main reason for the surge in illegal relationships because it allows teachers to communicate with minors without supervision.
According to a report by the Texas Education Association, smartphones make it easy for teachers to text and chat privately to students, and also allow teachers and students to share pictures.
