Police: Teacher had sex with student on near daily basis; parents now being investigated

[davidn3600]

Alexandria M. Vera, an eighth grade English teacher at Stovall Middle School in Houston, told police in April that the relationship she had with one of her students started through messages on Instagram - and had evolved into a great love.

On Wednesday, two months after the police investigation began and nearly eight months after 24-year-old Vera started having sex with the 8th grader, authorities issued a warrant for her arrest on a felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child. The student is under the age of 14.

Vera turned herself in at a suburban jail in Montgomery County and later bonded out on $100,000, reported the Associated Press.

Court documents filed last week in a Harris County District Court offer a detailed look into Vera's account of their blossoming relationship, which she told police was not only approved, but celebrated by the boy's parents. It wasn't until April, when Stovall principal Elsa Wright got a tip about Vera, that the school district's police department began investigating.

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"She stated that she and the Complainant had sex on almost a daily basis at her home and that they love each other," police wrote in the documents.

In January, Vera said she discovered the boy had gotten her pregnant. When the couple told the boy's family, according to the teacher, they were ecstatic and supportive.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/texas-teacher-had-sex-with-her-th-grade-english-student/article_c09fc5e4-a0b9-5350-9a02-28e09449dd64.html

Vera aborted the pregnancy as child protective services and police began to ask questions.

According to reports, the parents are now also under investigation. In Texas, it is a crime to know about sexual abuse of a child and fail to report it. According to Vera, the parents celebrated the relationship and even invited her to family outings.

The boy's age is 13. The age of consent in Texas is 17.

[Odin2005]

1. Sick, sick, sick!

[MADem]

2. I need more detail.

If the parents were "ecstatic" (WTF?) about this relationship, I have to wonder if they come from a culture where anyone marrying a "professional" in a respected profession like teaching is a WONDERFUL thing, and when you're 13 or reach a certain height, you're a man.

I'm not condoning this at all, FWIW. I'm just curious what sort of parents would do so--and wondering if there's a cultural component that is not being reported because of a pretense (which exists probably because of poutrage if anyone mentions it) that those components don't exist the second people arrive on US soil. The absurd number of young girls who are shoved into marriages abroad, and then, marriage certificate in hand, are allowed into this country, under-aged and wed, is hair raising. We shouldn't be surprised if the shoe on the other foot isn't a possibility.


Interesting article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/the-lowest-age-you-can-legally-get-married-around-the-world-10415517.html



Child marriage is still widespread in India despite laws raising the minimum age to 18 for women and 21 for men AFP/Getty Images

On Friday, the Spanish government announced it was to raise the marriage age from 14 to 16 to bring it into line with the rest of Europe.

Estonia now has the lowest marriage age in Europe with teenagers able to get hitched at 15 with parental approval.

Globally, the average legal age of marriage for boys is 17 and 16 for girls but many countries permit them, particularly girls, to marry much younger.

Several places, including the state of Massachusetts in the United States, allow girls as young as 12 to get married in "exceptional circumstances" with the consent of a judge.

But in many cases this is a leftover from an earlier age and is rarely tested. Many countries with low marriage ages do not have a particularly high number of under 18s getting married....

[boston bean]

3. Put her in jail and throw away the key.

This is molestation and rape.

[HERVEPA]

6. Your ignorance on this subject is more than astounding (and of course juvenile)

[A Little Weird]

5. Gross

It's hard to believe it went on that long before someone noticed and started investigating.

[bigwillq]

7. She should serve at least 13 years in jail

Sad story all the way around.

[IronLionZion]

8. Why does this keep happening?

I don't get what is so appealing about young 13 year old boys.

As if she can't find someone of legal age.

[PersonNumber503602]

9. I'm guessing it's a power/control type thing

This teacher isn't an a unattractive woman either. So I'm going to venture to say it's not a matter of desperation. The applies to a lot of these cases we see. It also seems like there are a lot more woman teachers doing it these days, but I'm not sure if that's just because they get covered more or it really happens.

[IronLionZion]

10. I suppose young boys are more pliant and don't know any better

but

I worry that more adults are finding that to be attractive enough to risk jail time, career loss, and public ostracization. They want it badly enough to justify significant risks. It seems to be an increasing trend.

[Drahthaardogs]

11. She is a pedophile

Nothing more complicated than that.

[Iggo]

13. Nothing more complicated than that.

[Iggo]

12. It's not that she couldn't find someone of legal age.

It's that she doesn't WANT someone of legal age.

She wants children.

[IronLionZion]

14. I'm worried that it appears to be increasing

in spite of all the risks people are obviously not being deterred by jail time.

[Iggo]

16. I hope it's just their getting caught that's increasing.

[obamanut2012]

15. It's rape, not sex

It maddens me how the media uses "sex" instead of "rape" in headers and articles.

[Rex]

17. Gross.

She needs therapy, that is not natural.

[demmiblue]

18. And then there are the people who condone rapes like this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027881111

Just sick.