New Orleans - Two female Louisiana high school teachers have been arrested on charges of engaging in group sex with a 16-year-old male student who then bragged to classmates, authorities said on Thursday.
Rachel Respess, 24, and Shelley Dufresne, 32, are accused of having sex with the boy in Respess's apartment in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner after a Friday night football game on September 12, Kenner Police Chief Michael Glaser said.
Dufresne also is accused of having sex with the student at her home in Montz, about 30km west of New Orleans.
The boy, who has since turned 17, told authorities that the sex was consensual, but he was not of legal age to consent, Glaser said.
“If this was two male teachers and a female student, the community would be outraged,” Glaser said. “It should have the same outrage.”
The two Destrehan High School teachers were booked on Wednesday on charges of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behaviour with a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, Glaser said.
They were released from jail early on Thursday after each posting a $7 000 bond, authorities said.
Dufresne had been arrested and released a day earlier on charges stemming from the alleged encounter at her home.
Prosecutors said they have not yet formally charged the women.
The charges related to the Kenner incident carry the requirement to register as a sex offender, police said.
Jeffrey Smith, an attorney for Respess, said his client is innocent. An attorney for Dufresne could not immediately be reached.
Authorities are investigating the possible existence of photographs or video of the suspected group sex, Glaser said.
The teachers, both of whom had taught the student, have been suspended without pay, the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper reported.
School officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment. - Reuters