Kentucky teacher pleads guilty to sexting student, banned from US schools for life

Rachel Clement, 29, a former Kentucky high school teacher, has pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual abuse after sending explicit messages to a student.

Kentucky teacher banned from classroom for life after sexting student

Rachel Clement, 29, a former teacher at Henderson County High School in Kentucky, has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse with a position of authority or special trust, and one count of tampering with physical evidence, nypost.com reports.

Henderson Circuit Judge Karen Wilson accepted the plea on Monday. Under the agreement, Clement is permanently barred from teaching anywhere in the United States and must register as a sex offender on the national sex registry for the rest of her life.

The case began in May, when a report was made to school officials, who then contacted police. Clement was removed from the school immediately and has remained banned from school district property since. Her teaching contract expired the following month.

As part of the plea deal, Clement is also prohibited from contacting her victim, his family, or any member of the school district, according to 14 News.

She had initially been charged with two counts of unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sexual or prohibited conduct, along with first-degree sexual abuse and tampering with physical evidence. Clement entered a not guilty plea at her arraignment in June.

Prosecutors subsequently amended the charges as part of the agreement — dropping the original first-degree sex abuse count and reframing the case around two counts of sexual abuse in a position of authority or special trust. Henderson County Commonwealth's Attorney Herb McKee Jr. said he consulted the victim and his family, Henderson Police Department detectives, and the school district before proceeding.

"We believe the evidence fit those charges," McKee said.

Clement had been scheduled to stand trial on Friday. She now faces up to three years on each of the sexual abuse counts and up to five years for the evidence tampering charge. Sentencing is set for 4 January 2027, according to online court records.

Source: The Sun