Mary Strong, Lewingston ISD, Idaho teaching assistant says she might have been too drunk to remember having sex with student.
An Idaho teacher caught on video allegedly having sex with a student on campus has claimed that she ‘may have been too drunk’ to remember anything about the illicit episode, cops said.
Mary Strong, a 53-year-old teaching assistant at Tammany High School in the Lewiston Independent School District, has been charged with having an inappropriate relationship with a 16- or 17-year-old victim, according to the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office.
Court documents state the female educator sending her student victim explicit photos and videos of herself on Snapchat — compromising her position of authority, trust and power before she was eventually caught on camera engaging in sexual acts with the student on school grounds, leading to a criminal investigation.
Idaho teaching assistant may have been too drunk to recall indiscretion…
Strong has since denied all the allegations, telling investigators she has no memory of them — ‘possibly’ because she was drunk, KREM reported.
Notice of the alleged indiscretions came after a school administrator notified the school resource officer on Valentine’s Day, court documents cited by KREM state.
Strong, who has no criminal history, appeared in court Tuesday on charges of sexual battery with a minor, with a judge setting bond at $100,000.
‘A $100,000 bail is very reasonable request by the state considering the nature of the offense and the information contained in the affidavit of probable cause,’ Nez Perce County Judge Victoria Olds said.
Abuse of position, trust and authority
Tammany High School principal Greg Kramasz said the school was cooperating with authorities.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our students are of the utmost importance. We take these allegations extremely seriously, and I want to assure you that every step has been taken to support the investigation and maintain a safe environment for all students at Tammany High,’ Kramasz wrote in a letter shared with the school community.
Strong is scheduled to next appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 26.
Lewiston is a small city of about 34,000 in northwestern Idaho along the border with Washington state, about 300 miles north of Boise.
