Teacher facing sex crimes case dropped after marrying student victim, avoids potential 4 yrs jail
Christopher Koulouris - February 1, 2022
Baylee Turner Sarcoxie Missouri teacher avoids potential 4 years jail after prosecutors drop sex case against her after she marries her alleged student victim. Couple now share toddler son.
A former southwest Missouri teacher accused of having sexual relations with a student has had her case dropped by prosecutors after she and the student got married. The ‘couple’ now share a toddler boy.
Baylee A. Turner, 26, was charged in February 2019 with having sexual contact with a male student while teaching her first year of English at Sarcoxie High School.
Nate Dally, an assistant Jasper County prosecutor, said the charge was dismissed because the marriage means the former student can no longer be compelled to testify against Turner, which makes prosecuting the case difficult, The Joplin Globe reported.
Turner previously taught English at a middle school in the district for two years before she took a job at the high school in the 2019 school year where she taught 11th and 12th grade.
At the time of her initial Feb, 2019 arrest, Turner, then 23, confessed to having sex with the student, 18 at the time at a residence according to prosecutors. Of note, previous reports described the teacher as being a devout Christian.
Had faced up to 4 years prison if convicted
Turner has surrendered her state teaching license, which was the prosecutor’s main concern, Dally said. The educator resigned her post shortly after her arrest.
The probable cause affidavit in the case does not say how old the student was at the time Turner was charged. Not immediately clear is when exactly the ‘couple’ wed.
The initial charge against Turner had been classified as a Class E felony in Missouri and could have potentially led to the educator serving up to four years jail time if convicted.
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