That’s the essence of a lawsuit filed by the father of a 13-year-old boy who was assaulted by a 26-year-old middle school teacher named Jessica Boyer over a 3-month period, from February to April 2013. The suit alleges that Boyer and the boy messaged each other during the course of the school day, and that the teachers or administrators at the Highland Middle Shool in Louisville should have been aware of the situation. The father’s lawsuit also claims that the school district failed to effectively train Boyer and was negligent in its supervision. The father is seeking damages for the emotional distress inflicted on his son, and deprivation of “access to educational benefits or opportunities.” There has been no response from the school district so far.
Boyer and the boy were discovered while having sex in the back of her car. Boyer was arrested and charged with second degree rape, second degree sodomy, and first degree sex abuse. She initially denied ever having sex with the boy:
However, when confronted with the information that the victim had saved a condom that he had used during sex with Boyer, and that her DNA was present on the contraceptive, she acknowledged having sex with the boy and agreed to change her plea to guilty. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges filed in Oldham County, Kentucky on May 7, and to 10 years (served concurrently) for charges stemming from acts committed in Jefferson County.
Under the terms of her plea agreement, she will be eligible for parole in as early as two years, but will have to register as a sex offender and undergo sex offender treatment.
Attorney Keith Kamenish, who represented to Boyers, offered a poignant summation: “Trying to understand the psychology behind these things is hard. Basically you slip, and slip and slip until you do.”