A Malvern teacher is out on bond after being arrested on sexual assault charges. Police say the teacher, Heather Carter, had a sexual relationship with a 17-year old female student. Police have been investigating this case for several weeks. FOX16's Latresha Woodruff went to Malvern for more on the story.
This is the second time in less than two months that someone associated with Malvern High School has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a student. The first was a substitute, this time it's a well respected teacher.
Heather Carter turned herself in to Malvern police Tuesday. She now faces second degree sexual assault charges for a relationship with a 17-year old girl, a student at Malvern High School. While the girl was of the age of consent, it's against the law for a person of authority to have a relationship with a minor.
Sgt. Doroteo Delacruz, Malvern Police Officer, said, "I talked to the student and the teacher and got a confession from both individuals of the incident that did occur."
Carter and the juvenile say the relationship started in January and became physical in March with sexual encounters taking place at Carter's home in Alexander, as well as in her car. Police only learned of a possible inappropriate relationship on May 23rd.
Delacruz said, "Apparently someone was cleaning out the vehicle that belonged to miss Carter and discovered a note or letter type document stumbled upon the reading of it and thought it was suspicious and reported it to school administration.”
Parents are shocked that Carter, who is known as a great teacher, would be involved with a student. With this being the second incident of the sort at the school recently, they're also becoming concerned.
Juanita, a parent said, "It's scary, really scary, to not really know who that person is standing in front of the classroom. It's got to be a better way we can screen who is coming into the schools."
Others say teachers need a refresher course themselves on proper teacher-student relationships. Cynthia, a Malvern resident, said, "Teachers should most definitely remember that they should stay in their place and remember that they are professionals. They're hired to be educators not friends to students."
School officials were not available for comment on the Carter's status with the school.
The student involved in this case has since graduated from Malvern High.
