Teacher Who Had Sex With Student: It Was the School's Fault

A former Cedar Rapids, Iowa substitute teacher is claiming the local school district knew full well she was sexually involved with a student and ignored the relationship in an effort to avoid embarrassment. Mary Beth Haglin, who has been charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, claims the Cedar Rapids Community School District "turned a blind eye because they wanted to protect their school."

So does that make the school or the school district complicit in her crimes?

School's Out Forever

Haglin, 24, admitted to having sex with a 17-year-old student throughout the 2015-2016 school year and also claims the school knew it was happening as far back as February. And even though she was dismissed as a Washington High School substitute in May, she was still used as a substitute teacher in area middle and elementary schools until the end of the school year, all while the criminal exploitation investigation was underway.

"They didn't ban me," Haglin told the Cedar Rapids Gazette. "They never actually said they were banning me from school grounds, they never said they were banning me from working at any other school, they never said they were banning me from thus-and-so many feet of any school. They never said any of that."

Not for Teacher

Haglin contends she is taking responsibility for her actions, despite implicating the school district. "I'm not shying away from this," Haglin said in another interview with KCRG. "I'm facing this head on." But that wasn't enough for some commentators. Just look how fired up Whoopi Goldberg and the rest of "The View" got over the incident:

Dang. Sexual exploitation of a minor is a Class C felony in Iowa, and Haglin is facing ten years in prison along with ten years on the state's sex offender registry. She's due in court for a preliminary hearing on August 12th and an arraignment September 1st. Luckily she won't end up in front of Judge Whoopi.

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Related Resources:

• Cedar Rapids Schools Didn't Initially Report Suspicions of Teacher-Student Sex (The Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• TX Teacher Takes Student to Bed, Then to Court (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)
• Professor Strips Naked While Teaching Accounting Class (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)
• Teacher Gives Student a Lap Dance, Gets 3 Years Probation (FindLaw's Legally Weird)