Charges dropped against ex-Odessa teacher in student case
Published 9:30 am Thursday, February 18, 2016
- Former Odessa, Texas Permian High teacher and swim coach Kathryn Maples, followed by her attorney David Rogers, heads into a hearing in the 244th District Court, in Odessa, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, in which her case was dismissed. Maples had been accused of having an improper relationship with a 17-year old student. (Mark Sterkel /Odessa American via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
ODESSA, Texas (AP) – A judge has dismissed charges against a former West Texas teacher and swim coach accused of having an improper relationship with a student.
Ex-Odessa Permian history teacher Kathryn Maples was indicted in 2013 on three counts of an improper relationship between an educator and a student.
Judge James Rush on Wednesday dismissed the counts, citing a 2015 appeals court opinion that the original law, under which Maples was indicted, was too broad and unconstitutional. The law was later updated.
Maples was 28 when she was accused of having an improper relationship with a 17-year-old student. She declined comment after Wednesday’s court ruling.
Ector County Independent School District Superintendent Tom Crowe says the district has no plans to rehire Maples, who resigned in 2013.
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