A former teacher at a Florida high school pleaded guilty to sex crimes on Wednesday, admitting that she had an ongoing inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old.
In court Wednesday, Irene Khan, 34, said she initiated contact with the boy in 2012 after he jokingly wrote his phone number on a chalkboard in class so that a female classmate would call him.
A police report obtained by The Huffington Post at the time of Khan's arrest showed that she texted the boy later that day, writing, "Hey what's up, it's Irene."
Investigators said the West Melbourne mother of two arranged meetings with the boy at local motels, where they had sex.
Police said Khan also had sex with the boy at her apartment and in her car. They said the illicit affair went on for a few months before they caught wind of it.
“She got into a sexual relationship with him over several months, and we got information on that, and we brought the victim in and questioned him,” Steve Wilkinson of the West Melbourne police told WESH.
The eighth-grade teacher was fired from her job at Imagine Charter School around the same time the relationship began. Prosecutors said the teacher lost her job because of inappropriate behavior unrelated to the case. They said she had been in trouble for showing students her tattoos, for instance.
In June 2012, WFTV reported that parents had complained about Khan's conduct with students in class, and that at least one parent felt the teacher's offense could have been prevented.
"She lifted her shirt to show her tattoos!" said the outraged mother of one student, who spoke with the station on condition of anonymity. "I think that if they had interviewed each child, they would have known what was going on."
Khan was charged with lewd and lascivious battery. At her hearing on Wednesday, she agreed to a sentence of two years community control -- a kind of house arrest that allows for employment -- followed by 10 years of probation.
She will also have to register as a sex offender for life. According to WESH, Khan could face up to 30 years in prison if she violates the conditions of her sentence.
WESH noted that "The judge also added condition that make it illegal for her to wear a Santa suit or any other costumes intended to appeal to children."
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