A female teacher could be looking at a lengthy sentence after she was accused of having an affair with one of her students.
Cali Heikes, 25, was arrested after allegations emerged that she picked up a 17-year-old student from his home three times a week and took him to a cemetery where the pair would have sex, according to authorities in Nebraska, US.
Wayne County Sheriff Jason Dwinell’s office confirmed the arrest after a deputy received a call on January 20 from a Department of Health and Human Services hotline claiming a teacher was thought to be in a sexual relationship with a student, court documents revealed.
The same deputy claimed a traffic stop had been carried out just over a week earlier on January 12 when he saw two vehicles leaving the area around the Winside Cemetery.
The officer reportedly stopped one of the cars which was being driven by the male student.
When asked what he was doing there, the student allegedly said he had visited the cemetery with “his friend Cali”.
The deputy also reportedly made a note of the other vehicle leaving the area, a black Chevrolet SUV registered to Cali Heikes.
Police later approached the student’s sister, who claimed to officers that Heikes would sneak into the student’s house at night to engage in steamy romps, and added she believed the pair were meeting up two or three times a week outside of the house.
She also allegedly produced a series of text messages that substantiated her claims.
Other family members reportedly told officers the alleged victim asked them “how they would feel if he was dating a 25-year-old”.
Investigators have now obtained a search warrant and are looking to seize Heikes’ mobile phone and other electronics to investigate further.
While the age of consent in Nebraska is 16, sex between a teacher and a student is always illegal due to the authority a teacher has over a student, and the crime is considered a Class IIA felony.
If convicted, this means Heikes could face up to 20 years behind bars.
Heikes posted bail on a $2,000 bond a day after she was arrested.
