A middle school teacher in Arizona has been arrested after she allegedly had a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old student.
On Wednesday, March 21, sixth-grade teacher Brittany Zamora, 27, of Goodyear, Arizona, was taken into police custody and charged with one count of obscene material transmission to a minor, the Arizona Republic reports. A court commissioner then found probable cause to hold her on suspicion of eight counts of sexual conduct with a minor, two counts of child molestation, and one count of transmitting obscene material.
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Zamora, a teacher at Las Brisas Academy Elementary School, allegedly had had sex with a 13-year-old student three times and also performed oral sex on him in her car during encounters from Feb. 1 through March 8. Police also reported that the Zamora and the teen exchanged naked photos.
The 13-year-old told authorities that their relationship began when the married teacher started “flirting” with him in a classroom chat group. She then sent the teen a nude picture of herself followed by a second picture of her dressed in lingerie. The two then began exchanging text messages with one another.
“I want you every day with no time limit,” Zamora said in one text.
In another message, according to court records, Zamora said, “If I could quit my job and (have sex with) you all day long, I would.”
Zamora was arrested after the teen’s parents discovered the text messages after they installed an app to monitor his phone. The teen’s parents then alerted the school’s principal, who reported the alleged relationship to police.
“The safety of our students is our #1 priority,” Liberty School District interim superintendent Richard Rundhaug said in a statement posted on the school’s website. “Transparency is equally important. We are fully cooperating with the Goodyear Police Department and will comment further at the appropriate time.”
Rundhaug also stated in a second statement that Zamora would not be returning to the school.
The teen’s parents told authorities that Zamora’s husband begged the teen’s father not to contact authorities regarding the alleged relationship, claiming that his wife had “made a big mistake, but that she loved the kids.” He also reportedly suggested that he and the teen’s father fight each other to “settle this.”
Zamora, whose bond is set at $250,000, is due in court on Thursday.
