GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A former substitute teacher from Guilford County Schools accused of multiple sex crimes involving a student faced a judge for the first time on Wednesday.
Officials say the teen boy was a student at Southeast Middle School, where Shaela Lenise Thompson, 28, of Greensboro, once taught.
Also in court was the boy’s family. Hearing police detectives read messages allegedly between the two was very painful for them.
“His father then opened up the Instagram account and found these extremely vulgar and definitely indicated a sexual incident did occur,” the detective said.
At one point, the boy’s father left the courtroom.
While the bulk of the proceedings focused on the messages, investigators said Thompson was the boy’s afterschool teacher in fifth grade and his substitute teacher in seventh grade.
It remains unclear how long the alleged contact was going on. The messages read in court suggest Thompson knew what was at stake.
“I would go to jail if anyone found out … Your parents would nine out of ten press charges on me, no matter if I look like a teenager or not,” the detective read out loud.
The judge asked if Thompson wanted an attorney,
“I do need an attorney because my side of the story…” Thompson said until she was interrupted by the judge.
That was the only time Thompson spoke in court.
As for the boy’s family, his father said they hope the case can serve as a warning.
“We may have never found it, and this kind of behavior with an adult can certainly change the behavior of a 14-year-old child, and we have to live with that,” a family member said.
The judge set $1 million as Thompson’s secured bond, which is the highest amount for her class felony charges.
In a statement, GCS said: “Guilford County Schools is assisting law enforcement in its investigation into a former substitute. The alleged incidents did not take place on a GCS campus, and the individual will not be back in our classrooms. This news is deeply concerning, and we take any allegations like this very seriously.”
Source: Fox 8 News Channel