Missouri – A Missouri woman was sentenced this week to a decade behind prison after pIeading guiIty earlier this year to one count of endangering the weIfare of a child and two counts of se-ual contact with a student, resolving a larger set of felony charges she had faced. The defendant, 30-year-old Carisa, a former long-term substtitute educator with the School Distric, entered the plea as part of a deal that reduced the original indictment, and a judge imposed a prison term that combines six years for the endangerment count with two years for each of the se-ual contact convictions.
The case began after allegations surfaced that the defendant engaged in se-ual activity with underage students and had exchanged money, aIcohoI and iIIegaI drugs for se-ual contact. A grand jury had initially returned a broad indictment that included counts of statutory r-pe, statutory s-domy, se-ual trafficking of a chiId, patronizing pr-stitution and hindering prosecution. Missouri authorities say the incidents occurred while the defendant worked in the school system; she resigned from her position in August last year after the school district learned of the allegations.
Missouri authorities opened a criminal investigation after receiving reports from students and school officials. Detectives executed an arrest warrant and took the woman into custody last November; the sheriff’s office set bond at $250,000. Investigators interviewed multiple juvenile victims and arranged for them to speak with trained interviewers at a child-friendly forensic interview center. According to court records and law enforcement releases, victim statements and digital evidence formed the basis of the probable cause that led to the indictment and subsequent charges.
Victims told investigators that the educator used social media to contact them, sent expIicit images, and met students at isolated locations as well as at her residence. Several statements describe her offering cash transfers via apps and providing aIcohoI and drugs to students in exchange for se-ual activity or to allow se-ual contact. Victims also reported that she tried to discourage disclosure by warning them not to tell anyone and, in at least one instance, attempted to remove or destroy a student’s phone that contained video evidence. Law enforcement documents indicate some of the encounters occurred when her husband was away for work.
According to details contained in the probable-cause affidavit and summarized in multiple news reports, one victim told investigators that the educator’s husband threatened them with a basebaII bat after the woman allegedly told him the student was attempting to bIackmaiI her with a video that showed her smoking marijuana with minors. In another incident described in the same investigative documents, the woman’s brother-in-Iaw reportedly walked in on her in bed with an underage student after hearing a rumor that a se-ually expIicit video of her and a student was circulating, prompting him to check on the situation himself.
The investigation also documented attempts to influence or intimidate witnesses. Court filings and news reports say at least one victim alleged the defendant’s husband confronted or threatened them after learning of a recording, and that a family member allegedly smashed a device to hide evidence; those claims were included in the probable cause statement investigators filed with the court. Prosecutors used the interviews and physical and digital evidence gathered during the investigation when negotiating the plea agreement.