Study Hard

Heavy

Alabama Teacher Stephanie Woods, Age 45, Engaged in a ‘Sex Act’ With a Student, Police Say
Story by Jessica McBride

Stephanie Mechelle Woods is a 45-year-old substitute teacher from Henagar, Alabama, who is accused of engaging in a sex act with a student.

The accusations came in a February 9 press release from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office “received a complaint about a substitute teacher possibly having inappropriate relations with a student,” the office wrote in a press release. The Sheriff’s Department released a mugshot of Woods with the press release.

The Sheriff, When Announcing the Arrest, Said That Children ‘Have Every Right to Feel Safe at School’

The Sheriff’s Department says that Woods is from Henagar, Alabama.

“The complaint was investigated by DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and today, Stephanie Mechelle Woods (45 of Henagar) has been arrested and booked into the DeKalb County Detention Center and charged with School Employee Engaging in a Sex Act with a Student under the age of 19 years,” the release says.

DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden said of the incident. according to the release: “I would like to thank our Investigations Unit and the Board of Education for their earnestness in getting this case taken care of. Our children have every right to feel safe at school, and parents have every right to expect it. Our children are our number 1 priority and we will protect them at all cost.”

The school that Woods worked at was not released by authorities, according to News Channel 9.

Booking records from the DeKalb County Jail show that Woods was booked on February 9 at 4:20 p.m.

According to its website, “The City of Henagar, AL, is located in DeKalb County in the northeast corner of Alabama. The City of Henagar has a population of 2,292 (as of the 2020 census).”

Woods is but the latest female teacher in the United States to be accused of sexual misconduct with a student.

In Virginia, Megan Pauline Jordan, a teacher, was accused of sneaking into the bedroom of a teenage boy in order to sexually abuse him, leaving DNA behind on the bedsheets.

In Utah, Ashlyn Harvey, a former substitute teacher in Gunnison, was accused of having sexual contact with a teenage boy in her husband’s car.

In California, Tracy Vanderhulst, a math teacher and “teacher of the year” recipient for Yucaipa schools, was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old high school student.

Male teachers also have been accused recently of sexually abusing students as well. For example, James Christians is a Michigan English teacher who is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old student over a five-year period.

In Kentucky, Jordan Fautz, a former Louisville, Kentucky religion class teacher, is accused of using Photoshop to manipulate school yearbook photos of students into “child sexual abuse materials,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.