A former Kansas teacher who had run for state and local offices pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with a teenage student, the Wichita Eagle reported Thursday.
Rodney Wren, who was 39 at the time of his arrest in February 2020, was charged with three counts of unlawful sexual relations with a student 16 or older, according to the Wichita Eagle. Wren was a teacher at Wichita Collegiate School, where he taught debate and forensics.
Court records said the sexual acts occurred in 2015 and 2016, according to to the Wichita Eagle. Wren got the girl’s phone number from school records during her sophomore year and began interacting with her sexually in his classroom on “most days” of her senior year, a probable cause affidavit said, according to the Wichita Eagle.
Wichita teacher charged with illegal sex got student’s number from school records https://t.co/fizIDxvFPK
— kansasdotcom (@kansasdotcom) June 3, 2020
Wren’s attorney said his client isn’t “a pedophile” or a “predator” in a phone interview, the Wichita Eagle reported.
“He’s a normal human being. He’s weak, like a lot of people,” Gerard Scott, Wren’s attorney, said. He said the relationship was “definitely wrong” but Wren “fell head over heels.”
Wren had previously run for the District 2 Wichita City Council seat in 2019, before the victim reported the incidents to police. He also ran for the Kansas House of Representatives District 83 seat in 2012 but ultimately dropped out, the Wichita Eagle reported.
Wren was terminated from his teaching role once the school learned of his arrest in February 2020, according to the Wichita Eagle.
Numerous teachers and school board members have been arrested in recent months for allegedly having sexual relationships with students or other minors.
A New York public school board member was charged in May with multiple crimes, including sexual misconduct and allegedly raping a 16-year-old on a boat.
In Alabama, a teacher was arrested in late May on multiple charges including rape and sodomy of a student. (RELATED: Former Teacher Of The Year Arrested On Rape And Sodomy Charges Involving Student)