Two high school teachers from the same school were arrested for allegedly having sex with students during class trips, one being overnight, at an Orange County beach, NBC News reported.
Michelle Ghirelli, 30, and Melody Lippert, 38, were arrested because police suspect they provided alcohol to South Hills High teens and had sex with them during the trips to Orange County.
The group took ots first trip in November, when a few male students went with Lippert to the beach. She gave them alcohol and allegedly had sex with one of them, investigators said.
Ghirelli then went on a trip a few weeks later with Lippert, where both of them are said to have had sex with students during an overnight vacation.
Lippert was arrested on contributing to the delinquency of a minor and suspicion of conspiracy. Ghirelli may be charged with unlawful sex with a minor and oral copulation, the Huffington Post reported. The ages of the boys have not been released.
Orange County Sheriff Lt. Jeff Hallock said the matter was serious business.
"A teacher is a position of authority. They're trusted. Parents send their kids to school every day and expect that they're safe," Hallock said. "To compromise that safety, to compromise that trust that we have in our teachers, is taken very seriously."
Neither trip was sponsored by the school and was organized by Leppert, according to school spokeswoman Michelle Van Der Linder. She said she couldn't comment on what the investigation may turn up.
"I think it's best to leave that up to the investigation. Obviously we have to respect their rights to privacy," she said.
