Former teacher pleads guilty to sexual battery of a teenage boy
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ST. ANTHONY — A former high school teacher has pleaded guilty after being accused of having sex with a teenage boy.
Jessica Lawson, 36, appeared in court Friday and pleaded guilty to two counts of felony sexual battery of a minor who is 16 or 17 years of age.
Lawson was initially charged with two counts of felony rape of a victim who is 16 or 17 years of age, felony delivery of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor dispensing alcohol to a minor.
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As part of a plea agreement, Lawson agreed to plead guilty to two counts of felony sexual battery of a minor who is 16 or 17 years of age, and the Attorney General’s office will drop all other charges, along with a separate case where Lawson was charged with an infraction for permitting an unauthorized minor to drive.
The Attorney General’s Office has also agreed to recommend a minimum of two years and a maximum of 20 years in prison at sentencing.
The plea agreement is binding, which means if the judge accepts it, the sentence cannot be changed. If the judge chooses not to accept it, Lawson can change her plea.
Lawson is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 26 in front of District Judge Stephen Dunn.
Background
Lawson was a South Fremont High School teacher from 2021 until 2023, according to Fremont County Joint School District #215.
According to court documents, on Nov. 6, a St. Anthony Police Officer initiated a traffic stop for having no visible tail lights. The driver was a teenage boy, and the car was determined to be Lawson’s.
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The teenager said Lawson had allowed him to drive her car “due to her being too drunk to drive,” according to police reports. Court documents say the minor admitted to having marijuana and was driven home by the officer.
Later that morning, the officer got a phone call from the teen’s parents, who said the boy had told them more information.
According to the parents, the teen had been picked up by Lawson around 11 p.m. the night before and taken to her house in St. Anthony. The boy told his parents Lawson got drunk and he got high before the two had sex.
During an interview later with police, the boy said Lawson had given him marijuana while at her house and then the two had sex.
Lawson reportedly later called the teen’s mother and admitted to picking him up from his house, taking him to her house and providing him with alcohol. She admitted to having marijuana in her house but said she did not give it to the boy.
She reportedly denied that “anything else had occurred.”