A Louisiana teacher's aide who was arrested in February for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old foreign exchange student has been charged with additional counts stemming from a trip to New Orleans with the boy.
Kimberly Wellman-Rich, 36, was booked into the New Orleans jail on Monday on counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, which is Louisiana's equivalent of statutory rape, and indecent behavior, among others. She was later released on $35,000 bail.
The new charges are related to allegations that in January, Wellman-Rich took the boy from Jefferson Parish to New Orleans and had sex with him at a French Quarter hotel.
Wellman-Rich's husband, Jeffrey Rich, later confronted the teen, who told him about his many sexual encounters with his wife, according to newly filed court documents. The teen said Jeffrey was 'angry' but told him to keep his encounters with Kimberly a secret 'from everyone except him.'
Louisiana teacher's aide Kimberly Wellman-Rich, 36 (left), was booked in New Orleans this week on new counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior. Husband Husband Jeffrey Rich, 35, faces charges of accessory after the fact to felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile
The new charges stem from Wellman-Rich's trip to New Orleans in January, during which she allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old foreign exchange student at a French Quarter hotel (stock)
In mid-February, Wellman-Rich, who worked as a special education teacher's aide at Edgar Martin Middle School, was arrested in Jefferson Parish on similar charges related to her suspected sexual relationship with the 16-year-old foreign exchange student from Europe, who had been staying at her house.
She was fired from her job less than two weeks after her February 11 arrest, reported Nola.com.
Jeffrey Rich, 35, was charged at the time with accessory after the fact to felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. He remains free on bail.
The case began unfolding on January 22, when an anonymous tipster told police that Wellman-Rich was hosting a juvenile foreign exchange student at her home in Youngsville and having sex with him.
Until her firing on February 23, Wellman-Rich worked as a special education paraprofessional at Edgar Martin Middle School in Jefferson Parish
Police said they interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence, which led them to believe that Wellman-Rich’s husband ‘had first-hand knowledge’ of the alleged abuse.
Investigators also said they learned that the couple allowed the teen to smoke marijuana and drink alcoholic beverages in their home.
The teenager was removed the home once the investigation began, police told KFLY.
According to documents filed in court this week, the couple began hosting the teen in August 2020.
When the boy turned 16, Wellman-Rich allegedly had sex with him. Police said the teen was a virgin before his encounter with the married teacher's aide.
During his interview with investigators, the boy said he and Wellman-Rich had sex multiple times on the couch, in her bed and in the guest room. During some of the encounters Jeffrey was at home but in another room.
The alleged victim said that Jeffrey (left) was at home but in another room during some of his sexual encounters with his wife (right)
According to the filings, Wellman-Rich told friends about her relationship with the minor, but pleaded with him to keep it a secret. The legal age of consent in Louisiana is 17.
On January 15, Wellman-Rich went on a trip to New Orleans with three girlfriends and brought the foreign exchange student along with her.
After a night of bar-hopping, Wellman-Rich allegedly kicked her friends out of their shared hotel room so that she could have sex with the teenage boy, according to the documents.
When they returned home, the boy allegedly came clean to Jeffrey Rich about his sexual relationship with his wife.
Wellman-Rich allegedly had sex with the teenage student for the first time on his 16th birthday; he was said to be a virgin at the time
'According to [the boy], Mr. Rich was angry, but not as angry as he thought Mr. Rich would have been after he was told [the student] was having sex with Mrs. Wellman-Rich,' investigators wrote in a report. '[The boy] stated that if it were him receiving that type of information, he would have been very angry.'
The teen said he had sex with Wellman-Rich one more time after his conversation with her husband, and before police were tipped off about the woman's suspected conduct, resulting in her arrest.
In addition to the new charges in New Orleans, Wellman-Rich faces counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile, contributing to the delinquency of minors and encouraging child delinquency in Jefferson Parish.
No comments:
Post a Comment