Jessica Lawson, a former Idaho teacher who was accused of sexual battery and rape of a minor adopted by a local family days prior to the incident, will face prison time as part of a plea deal, the New York Post reports.
Lawson, 36, who previously worked at South Fremont High School, will face two to 20 years in prison and be ordered to register as a sex offender, as well as attend sex offender treatment and face a no-contact order against the victim for 20 years, as part of the plea deal, which dropped additional charges of felony delivery of a controlled substance and misdemeanor. The former teacher’s vehicle was stopped by a Saint Anthony Police Department officer on November 6, 2023, after it was observed to have no visible taillights.
The minor was driving the vehicle at the time and Lawson was reported to be too “drunk to drive.” The boy admitted to having used marijuana given to him by Lawson and was driven home by the officer.
Lawson was arrested later that week after the minor told his new parents that he had smoked marijuana and drank alcohol before having sex with the 36-year-old. The former teacher called the teen’s parents and admitted to having given him alcohol and picking him up, however, denied “anything else had occurred,” referring to the allegations of sex and marijuana usage.
“It takes a village to raise a young man, especially a young man that has been in and out of foster care, that has never known what it’s like to have a mom and a dad,” the father told the court via East Idaho News. “My son is going to take a long time to heal and he doesn’t even know the wounds that he has yet. He’s not going to understand those wounds until he’s a parent and he’s sending his daughter or son … to the house of a parent that he trusts.”
“We brought [my son] in because he needed somebody, and he didn’t have anybody … It was pretty quick that we realized this is a really great kid, and he’s wonderful and he should be in our family,” the mother added. “He’s got a lot of problems because he didn’t have a mom and dad that taught him how to recognize safe people. And you took advantage of that … she knew she could get something from him.”
If you have been sexually assaulted and live in New York, you can call 1-800-942-6906 for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the state, you can dial the 24/7 National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
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