A teacher in Missouri was arrested for sending illicit videos and photos to an underage student while her husband was away from home.
Rikki Lyn Laughlin, sent a 16-year old boy pornographic photos and videos of herself, solicited naked photos from the teen in return, and even invited him to her home to have sex.
The Maries County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from a Phelps County detective last week about an alleged inappropriate relationship involving Laughlin at St. James High School.
According to the statement, a detective interviewed the teenage boy, who claimed Laughlin had reached out to him on Snapchat and sent him nude photos and videos of herself. The boy also stated that she had asked him to send her nudes of himself and he did.
The teen then said, “She asked me to delete the photos and videos because other people at school were talking about them and she could go to jail.”
After interviewing Laughlin, detectives said, “Miss Laughlin admitted that she had been talking to the boy over Snapchat. However, she claims that he had initiated the conversation and she had not been aware that he was minor until the day before it was reported. She also gave us consent to search her cell phone, which led us to find an illicit video on her phone similar to what the student had described.”
She was also accused in the probable cause statement, of inviting the teenager to her home to have sex while her husband was out of town. The teen boy claims he refused her offer because he did not feel comfortable.
Laughlin was arrested and charged with six felony sex crimes, which included promoting obscenity in the first degree, furnishing pornographic material to a minor, attempted statutory rape in the second degree, tampering with a witness, possession of child pornography, and tampering with physical evidence.
Files from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website showed that Laughlin had completed three temporary authorization certificates for teaching and a substitute certification with the school district and had been authorized to teach classes to juniors at St. James High School.
The school’s district Superintendent Tim Webster did not name Laughlin, but confirmed that one of their teachers was immediately escorted from school property and placed on leave pending investigation.
“The District takes these matters seriously and reported allegations to appropriate outside agencies, including law enforcement,” Webster said in a statement. “Our top priority remains the safety and well-being of our students, and we do not tolerate any policy or law violations within our educational community.”
