Williamson County Sheriff\'s Office Hailey Pardy, a 25-year-old former math teacher, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. She was indicted by a grand jury.
A former math teacher has been arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. Hailey Pardy, 25, was arrested after being indicted by a grand jury that believes she had an improper relationship with a student, the Austin-American Statesman reported.
“The action of this teacher does not represent the more than 1,300 caring, dedicated and talented educators who make up Bastrop ISD,” Bastrop Independent School District spokesperson Kristi Lee told the Statesman. “The foundation of the teacher-student relationship is one of trust, and when that trust is violated, it angers and saddens us. It goes against our very purpose, which is to teach children and provide them with opportunities to grow and be successful. Bastrop ISD does not tolerate those who seek to violate that trust and to abuse their professional responsibility. Our concern was then, and will continue to be, the safety, health and well being of our students.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The Incident Between Pardy & the Student Was Revealed in August 2019
Administrators at Bastrop High School received an anonymous tip on August 20, 2019, that Pardy had had sexual intercourse with a student in December 2018, according to the Statesman. Pardy was immediately placed on paid leave. The Bastrop school board voted unanimously to fire her on November 1, 2019.
Police said Pardy was 23-years-old at the time of the incident.
The Bastrop school district released a statement about Pardy’s arrest last week to ABC affiliate KVUE:
The foundation of the teacher-student relationship is one of trust, and when that trust is violated, it angers and saddens us. It goes against our very purpose, which is to teach children and provide them with opportunities to grow and be successful. Bastrop ISD does not tolerate those who seek to violate that trust and to abuse their professional responsibility. Our concern was then, and will continue to be, the safety, health and wellbeing of our students.
The school district also reported this incident to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office and to the State Board for Educator Certification, the Statesman reported.
People reported that Pardy’s bail was set at $100,000 and she has been released from the Bastrop County Jail. If convicted of the second-degree felony of improper relationship between educator/student, Pardy faces up to 20 years in prison. This is the second report of a teacher having a sexual relationship with a student since 2016 in the Bastrop school district, the Statesman reported.
#Bastrop High School teacher arrested, accused of sexual relationship with 15-year-old student.
Hailey Pardy, 25, was released from jail over the weekend after posting $100,000 bail.
Pardy Is a Texas State University Graduate
Pardy graduated from Texas State University in May 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, The Shiner Gazette reported. Pardy graduated along with her sister, the Gazette reported. Pardy was awarded the Texas State Academic Distinction Award the same year, according to the college’s website. She began working at Bastrop High School in August 2018 as a math teacher. She started off earning a salary of $48,383, the New York Post reported.
Other Texas Teachers Have Been Accused of Having Sexual Relationships With Students
Pardy is among a few teachers in Texas who have been accused of having sexual relationships with their students. In 2017, former Westlake High School teacher Haeli Wey was “sentenced to 10 years of deferred adjudication probation after pleading guilty to having inappropriate relationships with students,” KXAN reported. Wey, also a former math teacher like Pardy, was accused after two 17-year-old male students came forward in 2017.
In 2016, a middle school teacher named Alexandria M. Vera admitted to having a sexual relationship with one of her eighth-grade students and described their relationship as a “great love,” the Washington Post reported. Vera also said the student had gotten her pregnant and that his family was supportive of the relationship. The Post reported the parents were also investigated for failure to report child abuse. According to inmate records, she was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 10 years in prison with an expected release date of 2027.