A former Graves County Middle School teacher who’s been accused of grooming a student was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury. This comes after a judge previously dismissed the criminal charges against her earlier this month.
Sadie Flores, 25, was originally arrested in August after the western Kentucky school received allegations that she had an inappropriate relationship with a student. She was charged with grooming a minor, a new state-level crime that became enforceable in July. Under the state statute, it is now a crime for people in positions of authority or special trust – like teachers or coaches – to try to entice, coerce, solicit or induce a minor to engage in sexual conduct or to have a secret relationship with them.
Flores is among the first people to be criminally charged under this new Kentucky law.
According to a citation from the Graves County Sheriff’s Office issued when she was arrested, police said they found communication between Flores and a 14-year-old student on multiple social media platforms where – officers allege – the former teacher was “attempting to manipulate the minor and expressed feelings of love and admiration more so than just a student-teacher relationship.” Flores allegedly met in secret with the student before a school-related function, according to the citation. Police also say the student’s parents found a history of multiple FaceTime calls between their child and Flores made during the “late evening hours.”
Earlier this month, Graves County District Judge Scott Robbins dismissed the grooming charge. According to WPSD Local 6, Robbins said, at the time, that he heard no testimony indicating that sexual behavior or contact occurred between Flores and the student. Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Powers told independent Kentucky journalist Shay McAlister he believed the charge was dismissed at this preliminary hearing over a “misunderstanding” of how the new grooming law should be applied.
On Tuesday, prosecutors with the Graves County Commonwealth Attorney’s office presented the case to a grand jury. These groups, made up of 12 citizens, weigh in on whether the prosecution has enough evidence to charge someone with a felony.
The Graves County grand jury returned two indictments against Flores on Tuesday. In addition to grooming a minor, Flores was also indicted for tampering with physical evidence. According to the indictment, Flores allegedly deleted Snapchat messages between her and the student around the time she was first arrested in August.
WPSD Local 6 reports Flores pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in a separate hearing in Graves Circuit Court.
Flores no longer works for Graves County Schools. Her contract for this school year was terminated after district officials said it had "substantiated the allegations” of “repeated inappropriate comments through electronic communication with a student.” A state law passed last year requires Kentucky public school teachers to use traceable forms of communications with students in most circumstances.
