An Oklahoma County judge has issued an arrest warrant for 28-year-old Whitney Fetters, a Spanish teacher at Hefner Middle School in the Putnam City school district.
Fetters is accused of sending sexually explicit emails to a student who is now 14 years old. According to reports, the teacher began exchanging texts with the boy when he was a 12-year-old student in her homeroom class. However, in December, the texts allegedly turned sexual, and investigators say they included at least 20 nude or semi-nude pictures and sexually explicit videos.
Putnam City school district officials became aware of the allegations against the teacher on January 30, and she has not returned to school since that time.
Some reports indicate that police were informed after the boy's fellow students told school administrators that he had pictures of a naked woman on his cell phone. Others say that the boy's mother discovered the images and notified police.
Regardless of the means by which police were notified, they obtained a search warrant for Fetters's home and a warrant for her arrest. While the woman has not been criminally charged, her arrest warrant lists the following criminal complaints: indecent exposure, lewd proposals with a child, soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor, and violation of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act.
The accused teacher's Facebook page was deleted between the breaking of the story early Tuesday morning and the writing of this article. However, her Twitter, Instagram, and MySpace profiles remain active.
These profiles seem to demonstrate irony.
Her Instagram description, for example, reads as follows: "Spanish Teacher at HMS, Jiu-Jitsu changed my life. If you are a student at my middle school, no you may not follow me." If the allegations against her are true, then keeping her personal and professional life separate doesn't seem to be much of a priority.
Another irony on her Twitter profile shows her re-tweeting an encouragement to participate in a sexual assault awareness walk. She also re-tweeted the following quote from Teach Like a Pirate: "Kids can tell the difference between the teachers who only seem to care about them when they are sitting in the classroom, and those who see past the 'student' to the unique person who resides inside."
Sometimes, teachers who develop personal relationships with students are wrongfully accused of crossing the line between mentorship and romantic relationship. Parents who are jealous of the time a teacher spends with their children may launch false accusations; sometimes, these parents simply misunderstand. Other times, the student himself or herself may mistake mentorship for romantic interest, and when the teacher clearly responds that the relationship is strictly professional, a vengeful student may make false accusations. And still other times, a teacher may blur and eventually cross the line and engage in inappropriate and illegal acts with a student.
In all cases, a teacher accused of sexual impropriety with a student must retain immediate legal counsel.
