A Louisiana teacher who was accused of sexting two teenage students was framed, officials shockingly announced Monday.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said it opened an investigation into an unidentified male teacher at Central Lafourche High School in December, after residents claimed he was sending inappropriate messages to a 16-year-old female student, the Times-Picayune reports.
Detectives soon discovered she and a 15-year-old friend, who also claimed to have received the inappropriate messaged, conversed about them online.
The initial investigation uncovered the messages, pointing to the teacher’s culpability, according to WBRZ.
But over the next two weeks, officers questioned everyone who was allegedly involved and obtained search warrants for the teenager’s cellphones and texting platform account information.
They then determined that the teens fabricated the messages and the teacher’s profile on the online messaging app to make it appear as if he were having the conversations.
The girls would then share screenshots with friends in an attempt to frame the teacher, the sheriff’s office claims.
Detectives have since concluded that the teacher had not set any of the messages to the girls, and was actually a victim of a crime himself.
A Central Lafourche High School (pictured) teacher accused of sexting two teenage students was framed by them, officials announced
Sheriff Craig Webre and Lafourche Parish School District Superintendent Jarod Martin spoke out against the scheme, with the latter saying district officials were ‘shocked and appalled to learn of the accusations’
One of the students even allegedly admitted their involvement in the scheme, deputies said.
Both girls, who have not been identified as they are minors, were charged Monday with one count each of false swearing for the purpose of violating public health of safety, cyberstalking and online impersonation.
They have since been released into their parents’ custody and were placed under electronic monitoring.
‘Our juvenile detectives are diligent and take claims of inappropriate behavior very seriously. They are, however, equally serious about false claims,’ Sheriff Craig Webre said.
‘Someone’s life can be instantly ruined by a false allegation and I am proud that our investigators were able to get to the bottom of this.
‘Technology has made it very easy for people to try to manipulate the truth, but technology also makes it easy for investigators to ultimately find the truth,’ he added.
Lafourche Parish School District Superintendent Jarod Martin also said he and other school officials are ‘shocked and appalled to learn of the accusations of two of our students.
‘The allegations against one of our teachers were false and malicious, and we appreciate the efficiency of investigators in uncovering the source of these messages,’ he said.
‘Such attacks on a teacher’s credibility and reputation are concerning and can inhibit their ability to effectively educate children.’
Martin added that the district is ‘committed to investigating all allegations of misconduct in order to provide a safe environment conductive to learning and working for all of our students and staff.’
