An Idaho high school teacher has been sentenced to a minimum of two years and a maximum of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a minor. Jessica Lawson, 36, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault as part of a plea agreement, according to court records. As part of the deal, additional charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor and delivering a controlled substance were dismissed New York Post Informed.
Lawson was arrested in November 2023 in St. Anthony, Idaho, after police stopped a car driven by a teenage boy, with Lawson sitting in the passenger seat. Police said Lawson had instructed the boy to drive because she was too “intoxicated,” according to reports from the Idaho State Journal, East Idaho News and Local News 8.
The car was initially stopped for having a broken taillight and the boy reportedly confessed to possessing marijuana. The boy’s parents later informed police that Lawson had picked him up the previous night, and he admitted to taking alcohol and marijuana from her before engaging in sexual activity.
Lawson, a former South Fremont High School teacher, will serve a minimum of two years in prison. He was also issued an order to have no contact with the victim for 20 years, according to East Idaho News.
According to East, the father told the court, “It takes a village to raise a young person, especially a young person who has been in and out of foster care, who never knew what a mom and a dad were.” What it’s like to be.” Idaho News.
“It will take a long time for my son to heal and he is not yet aware of the wounds he has suffered. He will not be able to understand those wounds until he becomes a parent and has a daughter. Or doesn’t send his son home to a parent he trusts.”
The teen’s mother said that due to living in a foster home, he has difficulty distinguishing between safe and unsafe situations.
“We brought (my son) because he needed someone, and he didn’t have anyone… Very quickly we realized this is a really great kid, and he’s amazing and he should be in our family, “The mother told the court.
“She has a lot of problems because she didn’t have a mother and a father to teach her how to recognize safe people. And you took advantage of that… She knew she could get something from him.”