A now-former Graves County Middle School teacher was arrested late last week after officials with the western Kentucky school received allegations of the employee having inappropriate relationships with a student.
The Graves County Sheriff’s Office arrested 25-year-old Sadie M. Flores on Friday afternoon and charged her with grooming a minor.
According to police documents, the parents of a 14-year-old student in the district allegedly found multiple messages between their child and Flores. One of the parents also told police that they found logs of incoming FaceTime calls from Flores on their child’s phone that came in during the “late evening hours.”
The citation also states that investigators discovered social media messages that allegedly showed attempts from Flores to manipulate the teen and expressed feelings of love and admiration “more so than just a student-teacher relationship.” Police also say Flores and the student allegedly met in secret outside of school before a school function.
A new state law went into effect last month making grooming – which includes adults trying to entice, coerce, solicit or induce a minor to engage in sexual conduct or have a secret relationship – a crime in Kentucky. The law generally applies to adults trying to groom kids under 14 years old. However, adults in positions of authority or special trust – which, under state statute, includes teachers and coaches – can be charged with grooming if the victim is under 18.
Flores appears to be one of the first people to be criminally charged under this new law.
At the time of her arrest, the sheriff’s office said she was employed by the county school district. However, WPSD reports that as of Tuesday, Flores no longer works for Graves County Schools.
In a statement on Friday, the Graves County Schools’ superintendent said the district takes allegations involving children’s safety or the professional conduct of employees “extremely seriously,” and that the district is cooperating with police in an investigation.
