A 28-year-old California high school teacher was arrested on Monday on two sex charges, two weeks after giving birth to a by allegedly fathered by a student, according to reports.
Laura Elizabeth Whitehurst was taught English at the Citrus Valley High School when she allegedly starting talking to a 16-year-old boy. The started speaking to each other outside of school, and reportedly developed a relationship last summer.
The school officials contacted authorities when the mother of the teen came forward with the allegations. Officials say the victim is now 17 and graduated from CVHS last month.
Whitehurst was arrested at her residence around 8:45 p.m. Monday after cooperating with law enforcement, according to reports. She posted her $25,000 bond the same day and is expected in court for a preliminary hearing 45 to 90 days from now.
Whitehurst has been placed on leave, meaning she cannot be on school property or participate in Redlands Unified School District activities, according to Sabine Robertson-Phillips, the district's assistant superintendent of human resources.
"Nothing is as important to us as the safety of our students, and the district takes this arrest very seriously," Robertson-Phillips told RedlandsailyFacts.com. "We are fully cooperating with police in their investigation of this matter. Because we don't want to jeopardize the ongoing investigation, we don't want to comment further at this time."
A former student of Whitehurst is now claiming he had an inappropriate relationship with the English teacher. Michael Cooper, now 23, told NBC4 Southern California he had a physical relationship with Whitehurst his junior year of high school in 2007. Cooper reportedly does not feel like a victim, but speaking out would encourage other potential victims to talk to officials.
"I didn't feel like a victim; I'm not scarred for life or anything," Cooper told NBC4 Southern California. "To be honest, I had a good time when it was going on."
