Current:Home > InvestMissouri dad knew his teen son was having sex with teacher, official say. Now he's charged. -Capitatum
Missouri dad knew his teen son was having sex with teacher, official say. Now he's charged.
ViewDate:2025-04-28 09:34:35
A Missouri father has been arrested after authorities say he allowed his 16-year-old son to have sex with his high school teacher over at least a two-month period late last year, newly released court records show.
Police arrested the 36-year-old father on Jan. 4 on one count of endangering the welfare of a child, saying he knew about the sex and that the two were using other students as their lookouts, according to Pulaski County Criminal Court records obtained by USA TODAY.
USA TODAY is not naming the father to protect his son's identity.
Meanwhile the teacher, 26-year-old Hailey Clifton-Carmack, was arrested in Texas after fleeing Missouri, according to a Monday Facebook post by police in Garden Ridge, just outside of San Antonio.
Clifton-Carmack was a math teacher at Laquey High School in the unincorporated community of Laquey, about 75 miles south of the state capital, Jefferson City.
She faces charges of statutory rape, endangering the welfare of a child, sexual contact with a student and child molestation. USA TODAY was working to track down Clifton-Carmack's attorney, if she has one.
'Scratches down his back'
According to the arrest warrants in the case, the alleged crimes took place from Nov. 1 through Dec. 23 when the victim was 16.
Pulaski County Sheriff's Department detectives learned about the allegations when a witness came forward and told authorities that the 16-year-old boy had shown them photographs of scratches down his back and said that they were from his teacher "after they had sex in her driveway," charging documents show.
The teen told the witness that he was the reason for his teacher's divorce, and said they had overheard them speaking intimately on the phone. In addition, the affidavit continues, the witness said the teacher is “too friendly with students and sometimes will dress inappropriately at school," often "openly discussed her personal life in class," and at one point got in trouble with the administration for "being too close with students."
When detectives visited the school on Dec. 8 to serve a search warrant on the suspect's phone, charging documents show, Clifton-Carmack denied having any kind of relationship with the boy.
'Giving her test answers':High school teacher accused of inappropriate sexual relationship
Teacher 'used students as lookouts'
As the investigation unfolded, on Dec. 23, detectives reported they got a tip the teacher was traveling to Texas but planned to visit the boy before she left town.
On Jan 3, another witness met with detectives and said they had been to the boy's home and spoke with his father, who said he knew the teacher and his son "have been in a sexual relationship and have used students as lookouts while they had sex during school."
When the witness told the boy's father they were going to police with the information, the complaint continues, "he responded by telling her they are going to do it behind my back so I may as well let it happen."
The report goes on to say he told her he would "lie for his son if he had to."
When detectives spoke to the father, he reportedly acknowledged that the teacher had been at their home before she left for Texas.
Timeline of warrants, arrests
Clifton-Carmack had not returned from Texas by Jan. 3, and people living at her registered Missouri address told detectives that she had moved to the state to be with family and did not know if she planned to return.
A warrant was issued for her arrest the next day, the same day the teen's father was arrested and booked into the county jail in Waynesville, Missouri.
And the day after that on Jan. 5, Garden Ridge police in Texas say they were contacted about Clifton-Carmack, whom they described as "a fugitive from justice who was suspected of fleeing the state of Missouri," according to their Facebook post.
Clifton-Carmack was subsequently arrested and was still in custody in Texas as of Wednesday, a Comal County jail spokesperson told USA TODAY.
The teen's father was released on a $50,000 bond and is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 5. USA TODAY has been unable to reach him.
District: 'The alleged misconduct is inexcusable'
The Laquey RF School District could not immediately be reached by USA TODAY on Wednesday.
But, according to KRCG-TV, Superintendent Kent Stoumbaugh said the district was aware of the case, "took immediate action" and that the teacher has not been in the district since Dec. 8, the same day detectives visited the school to look through the teen's phone.
"We do not anticipate her return," the superintendent wrote in a statement released to the outlet. "We understand that charges are not the same as a conviction and the employee is to be considered innocent until proven guilty. We must stress, however, that the alleged misconduct is inexcusable and does not meet the professional standards for district employees."
If convicted of felony child endangerment, prosecutors said, the boy's father faces up to 10 years in prison. Clifton-Carmack faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted of all four charges.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
Jayson Boebert facing charges:Lauren Boebert's ex-husband arrested after reported fight
veryGood! (29)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Missouri judge says abortion-rights measure summary penned by GOP official is misleading
- Chiefs hold off Ravens 27-20 when review overturns a TD on final play of NFL’s season opener
- Lady Gaga stuns on avant-garde Vogue cover, talks Michael Polansky engagement
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- How ‘Moana 2' charted a course back to the big screen
- Linkin Park reunite 7 years after Chester Bennington’s death, with new music
- I’m a Shopping Editor, and These Are the Doc Martens Shoes Everyone Needs in Their Fall Wardrobe
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- A look at the winding legal saga of Hunter Biden that ended in an unexpected guilty plea
Ranking
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Emma Roberts on the 'joy' of reading with her son and the Joan Didion book she revisits
- Missouri judge says abortion-rights measure summary penned by GOP official is misleading
- Ralph Lauren draws the fashion crowd to the horsey Hamptons for a diverse show of Americana
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Abortion rights questions are on ballots in 9 states. Will they tilt elections?
- More extreme heat plus more people equals danger in these California cities
- 2 Nigerian brothers sentenced for sextortion that led to teen’s death
Recommendation
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
The 3 women killed in Waianae shooting are remembered for their ‘Love And Aloha’
Why Director Lee Daniels Describes Empire as Absolutely the Worst Experience
A Christian school appeals its ban on competing after it objected to a transgender player
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Video shows Green Day pause Detroit concert after unauthorized drone sighting
Fight Common Signs of Aging With These Dermatologist-Approved Skincare Products
Is that cereal box getting smaller? Welcome to the bewildering world of shrinkflation.