“Citizens from that area asked us if we were investigating it or if we knew about it,” Shelby County Sheriff John R. Lenhart said. “We heard a couple weeks of this, so we decided to obviously look into it.”
UPDATE @ 10:40 p.m. (Jan. 20)
An Anna High School substitute teacher accused of sending inappropriate photos and text messages is out of jail tonight.
UPDATE @ 12:29 p.m. (Jan. 20)
Andy Bixler, superintendent of Anna Local Schools, released a statement:
“The sheriff’s office made us aware of these anonymous allegations. We began dealing with it immediately and fully cooperated with the investigators. Given the nature of this matter, we immediately took the necessary steps to separate ties with the substitute employee during the investigation and pending its outcome.”
FIRST REPORT (Jan. 19)
A substitute teacher at a Shelby County high school is accused of sexting with an underage student.
Shelby County Sheriff John R. Lenhart said Tuesday that his office was first notified Jan. 6 by concerned citizens that an Anna teacher was sending inappropriate photos to an underage student at Anna High School.
The teacher — identified as Mary Breth, 25, of Sidney — will be charged with contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a child, and was issued a summons to appear in Shelby County Probate Court Juvenile Division, according to a release from Lenhart.
Lenhart said an investigation by Shelby County Detective Chris Brown indicates that Breth had been a substitute teacher at Anna High School and had sent text messages and a photo to a male student.
“The text messages began in 2013 and initially were flirtatious in nature and became more sexual in nature into 2014 and 2015,” according to a release from Lenhart.
Lenhart said it was discovered that in November 2015, Breth reportedly sent an inappropriate photo to the same student of her with underwear on and her arms covering her chest.
Breth was cooperative in the investigation, Lenhart said.