Two Teachers Charged After Having A Threesome With 16-Year-Old Student

1.

It all allegedly happened in 25-year-old Rachel Respess’ apartment. Her and 33-year-old Shelley Dufresne reportedly took the student back after a football game. Whatever happened in that apartment became schoolyard gossip and the two women were eventually arrested. The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office brought two counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile against Dufresne, and one count of failure to report the commission of certain felonies against Respess.

2.

The pair both taught English at a Louisiana High School. Dufresne, a married mother of three, pleaded guilty to a count of obscenity in St Charles Parish in order to avoid prison time or having to register as a sex offender back in April. She was ordered to surrender her teaching license, undergo mental health treatment and stay away from the victim and his family as part of her plea deal.

3.

According to prosecutors, Dufresne had an ongoing affair with the student, and allegedly had two sexual encounters with the boy on August 22 and September 19 of last year. Respess’ attorney has said in previous interviews that Respess was intoxicated in her home when Dufresne and the boy showed up, and that Respess “never entered into consensual sex with this young man.”

4.

“I appreciate all the work that’s gone into this investigation, we are entering a plea of not guilty. I’m glad she wasn’t charged with committing a sex crime.” Dufresne’s two charges each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Respess faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $500 fine.

5.

As with every case of this kind, a substantial portion of the public response involves people jokingly asking “where were these kind of teachers were when I was at school?”

6.

Other than being disappointingly unoriginal and increasingly predictable, it raises an important question about the abuse of minors. Is it only a bad thing when it’s young girls? (No. The answer is no.)