Two Louisiana students face charges after investigators found they created fake accounts and fabricated ‘inappropriate messages’ they falsely claimed their teacher had sent them.
On January 6, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office (LPSO) took to Facebook, announcing two teenage girls had been charged for ‘trying to frame a male high school teacher for sending inappropriate messages to a student’.
Juvenile detectives were forced to open an investigation into an educator at Central Lafourche High School in Mathews, Louisiana, after a 16-year-old and her 15-year-old friend had allegedly engaged in improper conversations with him via an online instant messaging platform.
After the filing was made on December 18, detectives spent two weeks investigating the claims.
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During the fortnight period, they conducted interviews with all parties involved and obtained search warrants for their phones and social messaging accounts.
“The investigation proved the teacher had not sent any messages or photos to the girls and, in fact, had no involvement,” Facebook post continued.
“The teacher was actually proven to be the crime victim and has been cleared of all allegations.”
According to the office, only one of the two students has admitted their involvement in the crime, but each one has been placed on electronic monitoring and released to the custody of their parents.
The two schoolgirls have since been charged with one count each of false swearing for the purpose of violating public health or safety, cyberstalking, and online impersonation, the LPSO said.
Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre praised the detectives for their ‘diligent’ investigation. He also remarked that they took ‘claims of inappropriate behavior very seriously’.
“Someone’s life can be instantly ruined by a false allegation, and I am proud that our investigators were able to get to the bottom of this,” he continued.
“Technology has made it very easy for people to try to manipulate the truth, but technology also makes it easy for investigators to ultimately find the truth.”
Meanwhile, Lafourche Parish Schools Superintendent Jarod Martin said: “We are shocked and appalled to learn of the actions of two of our students.
“The allegations against one of our teachers were false and malicious, and we appreciate the efficiency of investigators in uncovering the source of these messages.
“Such attacks on a teacher’s credibility and reputation are concerning and can inhibit their ability to effectively educate our children.”
He added: “We are committed to investigating all allegations of misconduct in order to provide a safe environment conducive to learning and working for all of our students and staff.”
UNILAD has contacted the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
Ella Scott