A former Henderson County High School teacher pleaded guilty to three charges related to sexual text messages sent to a student.
Rachel Clement will now await sentencing after Henderson Circuit Judge Karen Wilson accepted her guilty pleas to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse with a position of authority or special trust and one count of tampering with physical evidence. The sentencing date is set for Jan. 4, according to court documents.
Clement, 29, had initially pleaded not guilty to charges at her arraignment in June, when a pre-trial conference was set for Oct. 12.
According to a previous Hendersonian article, Clement was initially charged with two counts of unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited actions, first-degree sexual abuse and tampering with physical evidence.
As part of a plea deal offered by prosecutors, the initial charges of two counts of unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited actions, which are Class C felonies, were amended to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse with a position of authority or special trust, which are Class D felonies, according to Henderson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Herb McKee, Jr. The initial first-degree sexual abuse was dropped from the plea deal.
The commonwealth’s attorney said that he met with the victim and his family, Henderson police detectives and Henderson County Schools officials, and all agreed with the recommendations.
“We believe the evidence fit those charges,” McKee said.
Also as part of the plea deal, Clement will never be able to teach in the United States for the rest of her life, and she must be on the national sex registry for life.
McKee is recommending three years of jail time for each of for the unlawful use of electronic means to engage in sexual actions charges and five years of jail for tampering with physical evidence charges and for all those sentences to run concurrently, but he said Wilson can impose consecutive sentences.
The investigation began after a report was made during last school year to high school officials, who then contacted law enforcement, said McKee in a previous article. The Henderson Police Department investigated the case.
Clement is no longer employed with Henderson County Schools, and she is not allowed on HCS property.
