Martha Sasser Pope, a 43-year-old Alabama former high school secretary, is facing a felony charge for having sex with a 16-year-old male student.
Alabama HS secretary Martha Sasser arrested for having sex with an underage student
The former employee from Elba High School reportedly had a sexual encounter with the teenager on September 10. The official complaint states that intercourse and oral sex were involved.
It was not revealed how authorities were able to find out about Pope’s activities with the student. According to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, Pope was arrested Tuesday, October 12, on a school employee engaging in a sex act with a student charge.
Coffee County Sheriff Chief Deputy Ronnie Whitworth said Pope turned herself in.
According to Alabama state laws: “A person commits the crime of a school employee having sexual contact with a student under the age of 19 years if he or she is a school employee and engaging in sexual contact with a student, regardless of whether the student is male or female.”
Martha Sasser Pope resigns after arrest
Pope’s charge is a Class B felony, and if she is found guilty, she could face between 2 and 20 years in prison along with a fine of up to $30,000.
Chris Moseley, the Elba City Schools Superintendent, had revealed that Pope was on administrative leave with pay. A meeting is scheduled for next week to discuss the situation.
Pope decided to resign from her post on Thursday before the board even looks at her case.
After getting booked at the Coffee County Jail, the former secretary was released on a $5,000 bond one hour later. The bond was set by Coffee County Clerk of Court Elba Division. Pope’s next court appearance is set for November 10 at the Elba Courthouse.
Martha Sasser Pope smirks in mugshot after being charged with Class B felony
Pope’s mugshot has gone viral because many people said that she has a smirk in it. Some commenters have complained that she may get off easy because of her gender.
Others were displeased with the fact she was still receiving her salary while she was under investigation.
Pope was first hired as the school secretary in 2020. In April 2021, she was rehired in the same position.
According to different reports, there has been a rise in sexual misconduct cases from school employees in the past five years.
However, not much has been done at the national level to solve some of the problems. Experts say more research is needed to come up with efficient methods of prevention.
The lockdowns linked to the coronavirus had slowed down reports of sexual misconduct, but it seems those headlines are slowly returning.
