Another female teacher at a public high school has been arrested for allegedly having sex with an underage student.
The venue this time is Daniel Hand High School in Madison, Conn., a genteel coastal suburb. The teacher is Allison Marchese, New Haven ABC affiliate WTNH reports.
Marchese, 37, has faced a long, ongoing police investigation for the last several weeks. The investigation began on Jan. 7 after rumors began to swirl on social media — mainly Yik Yak — that the teacher had sex with an unidentified student.
Police have at last concluded that Marchese did have sex with the student. They also say the two star-crossed lovers exchanged indecent photos.
“We had to go through a lot of interviews and things like that to get all of the facts,” Madison police spokesman Joseph Race told WTNH. “We don’t want any rush to judgments, so that’s why we made sure we had all of the evidence we needed in order to substantiate this arrest.”
Local school district superintendent Thomas Scarice had very harsh words for Marchese in a statement.
“I find the alleged conduct of this teacher vile and disgusting,” Scarice said, according to The Middletown Press. “The bond of trust between a professional educator and a student is fragile and precious. The violation of this bond is nothing less than reprehensible.”
Scarise also promised to “take the most aggressive actions possible to see to it that any individual who abuses this bond is removed from the profession and brought to justice.”
In the meantime, though, Marchese remains on paid administrative leave.
Police have not released the age (or, for that matter, the gender) of the student.
Marchese turned herself into local police on Wednesday night.
The teacher faces charges of second-degree sexual assault as well as a charge called risk of injury or impairing the morals of a child.
Fines and penalties vary considerably and depend largely on the age of the student. If the student was under 16 at the time any sex occurred, Marchese must be sentenced to several months in prison and could be sent up the river for up to 20 years.
“It’s gonna destroy her entire family, as well as the family of the child affected,” local parent Christine Hayes opined to WTNH.
Marchese is currently free on a $100,000 bond.
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