Jessica Bonnett Acker taught at the Bryant High School in Cottondale. When these allegations came to light both her and the student involved, whose name cannot be released, were interviewed by police. Shortly after those interviews charges were written up by police and the following day Ms. Acker turned herself in.
Making her alleged actions more questionable is that she just got married back on May 31. There had been details of her wedding and photographs of it up on her Facebook page but her profile has since been taken down.
The school-district she taught in, the Tuscaloosa district, issued a statement on the resignation and sexual events alleged to have taken place.
“The Tuscaloosa City School System learned of these allegations Tuesday, January 6, at which time an investigation was immediately conducted,” their statement read in part. “The following day, January 7, the Board of Education accepted the resignation of the teacher involved.”
They did not say how long Ms. Acker had been a teacher or what subjects she taught. It’s not clear if the boy was in her classes, nor is it known how many times it is alleged they committed sexual acts together. She’s been charged with engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under 19 and her bail was set at $5,000.
A commenter on a news website, Henry, did not seem to think the charges were warranted. “OMG! A 23 year old had a relationship with an 18 year old,” Henry wrote. “This has surely never happened before. Ridiculous. Waste of taxpayer money.”
Other commenters found it to be a breach of trust and said that sex with a student, regardless of the closeness of their ages or the sex of the teacher, should be punished by law.
