High school girls claim teacher is a sexual predator. Now the teens are the ones charged with felonies.

 

Two female high school students in Louisiana allegedly accused a teacher of being a sexual predator. But now it is the pair of teens who've been charged with crimes after a police investigation.

 

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that officers received a sexual harassment complaint on Dec. 18, 2024, from two female students at the Central Lafourche High School in Mathews — roughly 45 miles southwest of New Orleans. The teenagers allegedly accused a male high school teacher of sending inappropriate sexual messages to a 16-year-old female student.

 

Detectives with the sheriff’s office conducted a two-week investigation during which law enforcement procured search warrants for the cell phones of the parties involved in the alleged incident. Investigators scoured social media and messaging apps to find any evidence of wrongdoing.

 

However, authorities said the only bad behavior discovered was carried out by the teen girls who attempted to frame the teacher for child sex crimes.

 

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office stated, "The investigation revealed that the two teenage girls had fabricated messages, created fake accounts, and shared screenshots with friends in an effort to frame the teacher for sending inappropriate messages."

 

Investigators determined that the male teacher had not sent any messages or photos and "had no involvement" with the pair of teen girls.

 

The police declared, "The teacher was actually proven to be the crime victim and has been cleared of all allegations."

 

After the new developments, detectives questioned the girls once again, and one of the teenagers confessed to their involvement in the crime, according to police.

 

On Jan. 6, both high school girls were charged with one count each of cyberstalking, online impersonation, and false swearing for the purpose of violating public health or safety — a felony. The teens were placed on electronic monitoring and released to the custody of their parents.

 

Sheriff Craig Webre said, "Our juvenile detectives are diligent and take claims of inappropriate behavior very seriously. They are, however, equally serious about false claims. 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."

 

" 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," Webre noted.

 

Lafourche Parish Schools Superintendent Jarod Martin added, "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," Martin continued. "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."