Sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old boy by a female teacher

John Doe was 14 when he met Stephanie Kelsey, who was a special education teacher at his school. She was the married mom of five children She was especially kind to him, and he would spend lots of time in her classroom, even though he was not a special education student. Other students would be present when she would caress his leg and put her head on his shoulder. She covered the window in the classroom door, locked it and began to have sex with him in her classroom as well as other places. She kept track of the times they had sex on her desk calendar, and on a graph that were openly displayed on her desk at school.  They went out to eat at restaurants with other couples, including a teaching aid, who was a mandatory reporter. They had sex several times a week from December until March 11. She also sent him nude pictures which he showed to other students.

Rumors, of course, were rampant in the school.  The daughter of a police officer who is also a member of the school board and a mandatory reporter told him about the rumors. Remarkably he said to her, in substance, “you must have proof positive before anything can be done.” It does not appear that he, as a law enforcement officer, ever conducted any investigation.

At some point, early on in Kelsey’s exploitation of Doe, school officials, asked her about her relationship with John Doe and she denied any wrongdoing.

His mother became aware of the nude photographs on March 10, 2022, and reported them to the Sheriff on that date. The next day, John Doe was interviewed by law-enforcement for the first time and acknowledged the criminal acts against him. Kelsey was also interviewed by the Sheriff. At first, she denied having sex with Doe, but finally admitted her conduct. She was charged, arrested, and pled guilty and is now serving time in prison.

Doe was deprived of a normal teenage life and never returned to school after March 11, 2021. He is doing his best, with his mom‘s help, to rebuild his life. We filed suit last week against the school district, the superintendent, and the principal for negligent supervision, breach of fiduciary duty, and other civil wrongs. We believe that school districts and school officials must maintain a high index of suspicion in order to prevent teachers and other school personnel from sexually exploiting students. Listen. Investigate. Act to prevent or stop sexual exploitation of Students.