A Louisiana high school teacher was found not guilty after she reportedly had sex with a 16-year-old football star and student. At one point, the alleged victim claimed that he had a threesome with the teacher and her colleague, but the court said the accuser's prosecutors failed to prove their case.
Thirty-four-year-old Shelley Dufresne faced two counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile after the student bragged his sexual relationship with Rachel Respess, Dufresne's co-teacher. Daily Mail reported that the student showed lewd photos of Respess and reached the authorities, prompting them to run an investigation that led to the discovery that Dufresne was also involved.
Court judge Danyelle Taylor said the unnamed 16-year-old provided untrustworthy evidence. Taylor added that the threshold to prove Dufresne guilty was not reached, per The Times-Picayune.
The judge said that the teen had a "braggadocios nature" and had the "propensity to lie," hence, creating doubt on his accusations. Taylor also acknowledged that sexual encounters might have really occurred, but the teen's lawyers failed to build their case.
Louisiana teacher who had threesome with 16-year-old male student gets plea deal, avoids jail time pic.twitter.com/16QpTeMQbh
— Breaking News Feed (@pzf) April 9, 2015
The student also claimed that he and Dufresne had sex over 40 times. One of the encounters reportedly included Respess for a threesome.
The teen and Dufresne allegedly had a month-long relationship, which she admitted guilty on Sept. 1, 2015. The defendant's lawyer, however, argued that there was no sex involved because he cannot attain an erection.
After the alleged groupie, Dufresne allegedly bought erectile pills for the student as she bought cigarettes. He did not, however, take the pills.
The investigation started when the alleged victim bragged a nude photo of passed-out Respess during the teen's night out at a bar with friends, Metro reported. The teen also reportedly blackmailed the teachers by showing their nude photos, one of which was his private parts spat on Respess face as she was tipsy.
Dufresne admitted she communicated with the student through a fake Facebook account named Madison Mexicano. The cover photo read "I love Mexican boys" because the student was of Mexican descent.
