Shortly before Christmas, we wrote of the dismissal of rape charges against a former Tipton High School teacher accused of having sex with two students. The reprieve for former teacher Laura Cowan, 34, was short-lived. On January 21, Tillman County prosecutors refiled second degree rape charges against Cowan.

You may remember that Cowan was initially charged last summer following an investigation that began in April 2014. Last spring, the superintendent of Tipton Public Schools called police to investigate an apparent inappropriate relationship between the teacher and one of her students. Cowan, who began teaching in 2010, resigned amid the allegations.

Police say she then admitted to having sex with two different students: one in her car and in her classroom, and another in her car and at a motel.

Cowan was charged with 3 counts of second degree rape, also known as statutory rape, for her alleged relationships with the students. Under Oklahoma law, no school district employee aged 18 or older may legally have sexual contact with a student under the age of 20 who attends the same school system.

The second degree rape charges were dismissed on December 9, after key witnesses failed to appear to testify at her preliminary hearing. However, prosecutors retained the right to refile charges, and on January 21, Cowan was again charged with three counts of second degree rape.

Oklahoma statutory rape laws are often misunderstood. This is one reason why anyone questioned by police about his or her sexual relationship with another person should absolutely protect the right to silence. Answering questions in a way you think may serve to exonerate you or lessen the charges can actually incriminate you and make your situation much, much worse.

For example, saying, "I thought she was 18," is simply an admission of statutory rape. Second degree rape is a per se offense, which means that if sex occurred with a minor, a crime occurred--regardless of any misconceptions about the "victim's" age, regardless of the minor's willingness to engage in sex, and regardless of any future plans for the relationship.

Likewise, many people think that the age of consent is 18 (it is actually 16), but a sexual relationship between two consenting adults is likely against the law if one of those adults is in supervisory capacity over the other. In one Oklahoma case, a teacher waited until her student turned 18 to engage in a physical sexual relationship, but the law expressly prohibits sex between students aged 19 and younger with school system employees aged 18 or older. In that case, former Kellyville High School teacher Kalyn Thompson, 25, was sentenced to 6 years with all but one year suspended. She will be required to register as a sex offender for life.