Former school counselor arrested after mother finds 17-year-old son naked in bed with her
A school counselor was arrested after she was allegedly found naked with a 17-year-old student of hers in bed by the shocked mother of the teen. 33-year-old Shannon Hathaway was arrested on June 14 after the teen's mother found her and the boy naked in the bedroom in May of this year. After the news came out, she was put on administrative leave from the school where she worked. She then went to police in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 14 and confessed. The woman can be seen in her police mugshot with a huge smile on her face.
The duo allegedly began their illicit relationship when the teen was still a student at the Harwood Junior High School. He was 17-years-old and in the 9th grade at the school between 2016 and 2017, the Forth Worth Star-Telegram reported.
She is married to 34-year-old Joe Hathaway who is a wrestling coach. However, after this exposure, it is not sure whether the two have decided to remain in their marriage. Public records, for now, do not mention any divorce plea. The school where Hathaway had worked earlier, eager to distance itself from the school counselor's actions, has sent numerous notices to the parents of the children studying there saying that she had been fired because she had breached school policy. The principal of the school sent out a voicemail to the parents after the disgraced teacher was arrested on June 14, saying that the illicit affair with the student in question did not happen on school grounds.
Bedford Police said one day later that the school counselor had had sex with the student on multiple occasions the previous school year when the student was just 17. They had sexual encounters at both her home in Keller as well as the boy's home in Euless, where they were ultimately caught by the mother.
Officials at the school found out about the sexual misconduct allegation in May when the teen's sister revealed the details of the relationship. She told the police that the disgraced school counselor had told her brother that she was in love with him. The authorities have said that the sister also told them Hathaway had confessed to her on a separate occasion that she was planning to leave her husband for the teen.
When the school management found out about the misconduct claims, they put her on paid leave. Hathaway resigned as the school counselor shortly after that. She went to the authorities on June 14 and confessed what she had done after they had issued a warrant for her arrest.
Steve Chapman, the Superintendent of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "There is no evidence to suggest the alleged behavior happened on the Harwood Junior High campus."
It is yet to be known if Hathaway was given any bail on Thursday. It still remains unclear if she saw a judge in court about the charges of improper relationship between an educator and a student.
In another incident that took place earlier this month, Meaww reported that a biology teacher at a high school has been arrested after it was found that she allegedly had a sexual relationship with one of the students in the school she was teaching at. 34-year-old Miranda Pauley has been officially charged with four felony counts of indecent liberties by a custodian.
Pauley is the latest in a string of incidents involving teachers across the country having indecent sexual relationships with underage students. She is a former teacher of the Patrick Henry High School in Ashland in Virginia. Pauley was also charged with one felony count of use of a communication system for crimes against children.
According to WTVR, at least one of the incidents that involved her and the student took place on school grounds. The alleged relationship is said to have happened in November and December of 2017 and then again in May 2018.
On May 31 afternoon, Pauley was escorted out of the school by police officers. The disgraced teacher has been fired from the school after her arrest. She joined the school as a teacher in 2006.
Chris Whitley, a spokesperson for the Hanover County Public Schools, said that the news of the sexual relationship between the teacher and the student was "disturbing".He said in a statement on the day she was arrested: "We take these matters seriously. We became aware of the arrest this afternoon and immediately referred it to our Human Resources Department."
"While our policy prohibits the release of specific details concerning personnel-related matters, we will continue to work closely and in full cooperation with the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office."
The disgraced teacher was given a $50,000 bond on June 1. She is also not allowed to have any contact with the alleged victim or with anyone under the age of 18 unless they are accompanied by their parents. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, she is also not allowed to leave the state of Virginia unless she gets a court permission to do the same. She is also only permitted a single trip to the school building just to pick up her personal belongings.
A preliminary hearing is set to take place on July 12. Pauley is the second teacher from the Patrick Henry High School who has been arrested on sex charges in less than six months.