Former substitute teacher accused of having sex with 17-year-old sentenced
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A former part-time substitute teacher who was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old student in a St. Paul charter school learned her sentence on Wednesday.
Caitlin Thao, 25, was originally charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. She was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years of supervised release and 160 hours of community service. She also can no longer have unsupervised contact with minors or vulnerable adults.
Court documents state police began investigating Thao last February after complaints were made about "inappropriate" behavior toward students.
In mid-March, the 17-year-old victim told police he had sex with Thao. He was a student in an English language learner class that Thao worked in, and the two had "shared a non-alcoholic drink" and "she may have messaged him on social media," according to documents.
The victim said the sexual encounter happened inside a middle school classroom in February, and that Thao later invited him to her residence for more sex when her husband was away, which the victim turned down.
The criminal complaint states Thao's husband discovered what had happened in early March and contacted the victim's mom. The next day, Thao allegedly admitted the sexual encounter to a Regions Hospital social worker.
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