Current:Home > NewsMissouri dad knew his teen son was having sex with teacher, official say. Now he's charged. -WealthSphere Pro
Missouri dad knew his teen son was having sex with teacher, official say. Now he's charged.
View
Date:2025-04-18 17:43:54
A Missouri father has been arrested after authorities say he allowed his 16-year-old son to have sex with his high school teacher over at least a two-month period late last year, newly released court records show.
Police arrested the 36-year-old father on Jan. 4 on one count of endangering the welfare of a child, saying he knew about the sex and that the two were using other students as their lookouts, according to Pulaski County Criminal Court records obtained by USA TODAY.
USA TODAY is not naming the father to protect his son's identity.
Meanwhile the teacher, 26-year-old Hailey Clifton-Carmack, was arrested in Texas after fleeing Missouri, according to a Monday Facebook post by police in Garden Ridge, just outside of San Antonio.
Clifton-Carmack was a math teacher at Laquey High School in the unincorporated community of Laquey, about 75 miles south of the state capital, Jefferson City.
She faces charges of statutory rape, endangering the welfare of a child, sexual contact with a student and child molestation. USA TODAY was working to track down Clifton-Carmack's attorney, if she has one.
'Scratches down his back'
According to the arrest warrants in the case, the alleged crimes took place from Nov. 1 through Dec. 23 when the victim was 16.
Pulaski County Sheriff's Department detectives learned about the allegations when a witness came forward and told authorities that the 16-year-old boy had shown them photographs of scratches down his back and said that they were from his teacher "after they had sex in her driveway," charging documents show.
The teen told the witness that he was the reason for his teacher's divorce, and said they had overheard them speaking intimately on the phone. In addition, the affidavit continues, the witness said the teacher is “too friendly with students and sometimes will dress inappropriately at school," often "openly discussed her personal life in class," and at one point got in trouble with the administration for "being too close with students."
When detectives visited the school on Dec. 8 to serve a search warrant on the suspect's phone, charging documents show, Clifton-Carmack denied having any kind of relationship with the boy.
'Giving her test answers':High school teacher accused of inappropriate sexual relationship
Teacher 'used students as lookouts'
As the investigation unfolded, on Dec. 23, detectives reported they got a tip the teacher was traveling to Texas but planned to visit the boy before she left town.
On Jan 3, another witness met with detectives and said they had been to the boy's home and spoke with his father, who said he knew the teacher and his son "have been in a sexual relationship and have used students as lookouts while they had sex during school."
When the witness told the boy's father they were going to police with the information, the complaint continues, "he responded by telling her they are going to do it behind my back so I may as well let it happen."
The report goes on to say he told her he would "lie for his son if he had to."
When detectives spoke to the father, he reportedly acknowledged that the teacher had been at their home before she left for Texas.
Timeline of warrants, arrests
Clifton-Carmack had not returned from Texas by Jan. 3, and people living at her registered Missouri address told detectives that she had moved to the state to be with family and did not know if she planned to return.
A warrant was issued for her arrest the next day, the same day the teen's father was arrested and booked into the county jail in Waynesville, Missouri.
And the day after that on Jan. 5, Garden Ridge police in Texas say they were contacted about Clifton-Carmack, whom they described as "a fugitive from justice who was suspected of fleeing the state of Missouri," according to their Facebook post.
Clifton-Carmack was subsequently arrested and was still in custody in Texas as of Wednesday, a Comal County jail spokesperson told USA TODAY.
The teen's father was released on a $50,000 bond and is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 5. USA TODAY has been unable to reach him.
District: 'The alleged misconduct is inexcusable'
The Laquey RF School District could not immediately be reached by USA TODAY on Wednesday.
But, according to KRCG-TV, Superintendent Kent Stoumbaugh said the district was aware of the case, "took immediate action" and that the teacher has not been in the district since Dec. 8, the same day detectives visited the school to look through the teen's phone.
"We do not anticipate her return," the superintendent wrote in a statement released to the outlet. "We understand that charges are not the same as a conviction and the employee is to be considered innocent until proven guilty. We must stress, however, that the alleged misconduct is inexcusable and does not meet the professional standards for district employees."
If convicted of felony child endangerment, prosecutors said, the boy's father faces up to 10 years in prison. Clifton-Carmack faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted of all four charges.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
Jayson Boebert facing charges:Lauren Boebert's ex-husband arrested after reported fight
veryGood! (55981)
Related
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Prosecutors oppose Sen. Bob Menendez’s effort to delay May bribery trial until July
- Pregnant Texas teen Savanah Nicole Soto and boyfriend found dead, family says
- Tax season can be terrifying. Here's everything to know before filing your taxes in 2024.
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Patrick Schwarzenegger Engaged to Abby Champion: See Her Stunning 2-Stone Ring
- As the Endangered Species Act turns 50, those who first enforced it reflect on its mixed legacy
- 1-2-3 and counting: Las Vegas weddings could hit record on New Year’s Eve thanks to date’s pattern
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- I Placed 203 Amazon Orders This Year, Here Are the 39 Underrated Products You Should Know About
Ranking
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Live updates | Israel’s forces raid a West Bank refugee camp as its military expands Gaza offensive
- Georgia museum hosts awkward family photos exhibit as JCPennys Portraits trend takes off
- Authorities in Arizona identify victim of 1976 homicide, ask for help finding family, info
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Not everyone's holiday is about family. Christmas traditions remind me what I've been missing.
- Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Detail Fight That Made Them Seek Relationship Counseling
- 'Violent rhetoric' targeting Colorado Supreme Court justices prompts FBI investigation
Recommendation
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Former Turkish club president released on bail after punching referee at top league game
Argentina’s new president lays off 5,000 government employees hired in 2023, before he took office
Widower of metro Phoenix’s ex-top prosecutor suspected of killing 2 women before taking his own life
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Feds want to hunt one kind of owl to save another kind of owl. Here's why.
'I just wasn't ready to let her go': Michigan woman graduates carrying 10-day-old baby
1-2-3 and counting: Las Vegas weddings could hit record on New Year’s Eve thanks to date’s pattern