A 25-year-old teacher from Missouri is facing six felony charges for allegedly exchanging nudes with a 16-year-old student. Rikki Lynn Laughlin of St. James, Missouri allegedly asked for nudes from her victim via Snapchat and sent him her naked videos and pictures.
As per Newsweek, Laughlin has been charged with one count each of attempted statutory rape, possession of child pornography, tampering with a witness, tampering with physical evidence, promoting obscenity in the first degree, and furnishing pornographic materials to a minor, authorities said.
The teacher pursued the relationship with a student and the 16-year-old did not want to engage with her.
According to KSDK, The Maries County Sheriff's received a tip from a Phelps County detective last week about an alleged inappropriate relationship involving Laughlin.
As per the probable cause statement, a detective interviewed a teenage boy, and he revealed that Laughlin had sent him nude photos and videos of herself. He also shared that he also exchanged nudes of himself with the teacher.
The authorities further revealed that Laughlin had asked the teen to delete her videos and photos because other people at school were talking about them and she feared that she could go to jail for it.
The detective interviewed Laughlin the same day and she admitted that she was talking with the student over Snapchat. The teacher said she did not know that the victim was a minor until the day before the interview. The age of consent in Missouri is 17 years old.
According to court documents, her bond was set at $100,000.
School district Superintendent Tim Webster without naming Laughlin confirmed the news. "The District takes these matters seriously and reported allegations to appropriate outside agencies, including law enforcement,” Webster told KSDK in a statement.
“Our top priority remains the safety and well-being of our students, and we do not tolerate any policy or law violations within our educational community,” he added.
