Virginia teacher messaged teen student asking for sexy pictures so he could masturbate, police say
CULPEPER COUNTY, VIRGINIA: A maths teacher was arrested on Wednesday, May 27, for allegedly sending an inappropriate message to a teen student. Stephen Kirsch was arrested for soliciting a minor student, who was under the age of 18, according to the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office.
According to reports, the 31-year-old accused, who is a teacher at the Culpeper County High School for the past six years, started speaking inappropriately to one of his former students, who is still a student of the school, on Monday, May 25. Kirsch allegedly used a social media app to contact the girl. “Kirsch suggested the exchange of “sexy” pictures between the two and made several sexually suggestive and inappropriate comments, to include his intent of masturbation,” said police as reported by The Sun.
The teen girl then reportedly informed school authorities about the alleged message, who then immediately contacted her parents and the Sheriff’s Office. Thanking the student for her bravery, Sheriff Scott Jenkin said in a Wednesday statement to Facebook: “We’re very thankful that the victim quickly contacted school authorities to report the incident. Once again the school officials have worked well to assist our detectives through this investigation. There may have been other similar incidents involving this suspect and we hope that those persons will feel comfortable coming forward to be heard."
Meanwhile, Kirsch has been charged with using a communications system for the purposes of soliciting, with lascivious intent, a person less than 18 years of age. However, he has since been released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.
Kirsch has resigned his position with Culpeper County Public Schools, the office of the school division’s superintendent said late Wednesday afternoon in a statement.
In another incident, an Idaho teacher was arrested on May 19 after his student alleged that she had been sexually abused and harassed by him. Patrick Todd Smith has been charged with felony sexual battery on a minor. Smith is a teacher at the Technical Careers High School in Bonneville Joint School District 93. He was also a Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputy from 2007 to 2011.
The 51-year-old’s arrest came after the 17-year-old student alleged how his inappropriate behavior began with flirty and sexual comments and escalated to unwanted kissing and groping in spring 2019. Describing the pattern of the alleged sexual abuse, the victim claimed that Smith, an auto shop teacher, was overly comfortable and flirty with his students. The girl alleged that he would take whatever the students said in a sexual way.
During a forensic interview at the Upper Valley Child Advocacy Center, the victim said that Smith’s behavior was initially ignored since it was “normal” for him. However, soon his actions moved beyond sexual comments. The teen alleged that Smith started with innocent hugging, but one day he grabbed her and pulled her into his lap and said it was not fair she aroused him, and “he had to deal with it all day.” The probable cause reads, “Each time Smith came back into the shop, he would take it a step further. … Smith kept saying that his life would be easier if she wasn’t so attractive or if she was 18."