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On Friday, April 14, a Dowling Catholic High School teacher, Kristen Gantt, was arrested for carrying out an alleged improper relationship with a 17-year-old student in her class.
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of abuse. Reader discretion is advised
Kristen Gantt, 36, who was charged with two counts of s*xual exploitation by a school employee, is accused of grooming the underage student who allegedly confided in her over family troubles. Authorities alleged that Gantt, who taught English at Dowling Catholic High School, preyed on vulnerable students and engaged in inappropriate relationships multiple times on school premises.
As per the court documents obtained by NBC affiliate WHO 13, Gantt, who turned herself into police custody on Friday, confessed to engaging in a physical relationship on at least five different occasions. The alleged secret tryst reportedly occurred inside the classroom after school had closed for the day.
Kristen Gantt exchanged personal messages with the student on social media
According to WHO 13, the allegations against Kristen Gantt were brought to light after an individual contacted the publication on March 20th and revealed incriminating social media conversations between the teacher and the student. The publication reportedly advised the individual to report the incident to law enforcement, which began investigating immediately after they were alerted.
Police reportedly issued a search warrant for Gantt and obtained communications between her and the student via email and Instagram. The chats revealed that the two began communicating in February.
The publication reported that the chats were laced with flirtatious undertones and detailed a particular text where the student sent a shirtless photo of himself to Gantt, asking, "What do you think about this?" to which she responded, "I think you know." The outlet further stated that both made plans to meet outside the school premises, though the date never materialized due to bad weather conditions.
As per the court documents, the student reportedly told the police that he reached out to Gantt for emotional support due to family issues. However, the student denied that they crossed any boundaries during their interactions. Meanwhile, court documents stated that the messages between the two indicated that they engaged in an inappropriate relationship.
"Messages collected through numerous sources show that an ongoing relationship had taken place between the two which was sexualized in nature, had occurred inside and outside of school grounds, and included numerous electronic platforms."
Surveillance footage caught Kristen Gantt and the student alone in a classroom
According to the Des Moines Register, shortly before they were discovered, surveillance footage from the school captured Gantt and the student in her classroom alone, behind a locked door with windows covered in a piece of paper.
School administrators reportedly handed the footage over to the police during the investigations. Shortly after the allegations were brought to light, school officials supposedly confronted both Gantt and the teen, who denied anything untoward had transpired between them but acknowledged that they had exchanged personal texts pertaining to the boy's family troubles.
As per WHO 13, Gantt was placed on administrative leave and will not be returning to school.
