10-Year-Old Allegedly Raped By Married School Teacher In Louisiana

A public school teacher in Sulphur, Louisiana, was accused of raping a 10-year-old boy. Deidre R. Smith, 34, a teacher at Lake Charles Charter Academy, was arrested Tuesday after the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office received a tip-off regarding her “possibly having an inappropriate relationship” with one of her students.

Smith was charged with first-degree rape and felony indecent behavior with a juvenile. Preliminary investigation revealed the accused had a physical relationship with the unidentified minor since the end of 2018, which included sexual intercourse.

The accused is married with three children - a girl and two boys. She has been an employee of Charter Schools USA – which runs the Lake Charles Charter Academy – since 2012, her LinkedIn page said.

Details regarding the case were not immediately clear. As the investigation into the matter continues, additional charges may be brought against Smith, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post Wednesday. The suspect was booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center and released later the same day on $50,000 bond.

Judge Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux, the president of Lake Charles Charter Academy, issued the following statement regarding Smith’s arrest to NBC-affiliated KPLC 7 News:

"An allegation of staff misconduct was received by Lake Charles Charter Academy. We take any allegations of staff misconduct very seriously. The allegation is being investigated. The allegation has not been verified to be true. If verified that teacher will be subject to termination. The safety and security of our students and staff are our top priority.”

A spokesperson for the school told New York Post that the case involved one isolated, off-campus incident involving a single student.

“While we are not at liberty to discuss personnel issues, please be aware that we do not tolerate any behavior that compromises our safety standards and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement to assure a thorough investigation is completed,” the statement read. “We believe this was an isolated incident and no other students were involved.”

In a similar incident in April, a teacher in Brooklyn, New York, was accused of sexually abusing his 11-year-old student. Daniel Santiago, 29, who taught at the Brooklyn Science and Engineering Academy in Flatbush, was charged with sex abuse and acting in a manner to injure a child under 17.

Santiago, who was married and had a child of his own, allegedly touched the 11-year-old student inappropriately on multiple occasions and even sent her sexual messages as well as pictures.

“This teacher was immediately reassigned away from the classroom when we were made aware of this disturbing allegation. We'll seek to remove him from payroll as quickly as possible while the investigation is pending,” press secretary of New York City Department of Education, Will Mantel, said in a statement regarding the accused’s arrest.