SILOAM SPRINGS (KFSM) – A Siloam Springs teacher that was accused of having sex with a student pleaded not guilty on Monday (Oct. 13), officials say.
Mary F. McCormick, 32, was arraigned before Circuit Judge Brad Karren on Monday, accused of raping and exchanging explicit photographs with a 13-year-old boy.
She was arrested in August and spent a night in the Benton County Jail before being released on a $50,000 bond, authorities said.
Her next court date is scheduled for Dec. 10, according to officials.
Siloam Springs detectives began investigating McCormick Aug. 8 amid reports she engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a young teenager. The incidents occurred between June and August, according to the Siloam Springs Police Department.
Through the investigation, police said they collected evidence suggesting there was an exchange of electronic messages, photographs and a sexual relationship between McCormick and the victim.
A probable cause affidavit states the two had consensual sex at least twice. Under Arkansas law, “consensual” sex between an adult and an underage minor is considered rape because the minor cannot legally consent.
The encounters began after a friend dared the 13 year old to contact McCormick, the affidavit states. In one instance, the boy and a friend went over to the teacher’s apartment to watch a movie. The friend left, but the 13 year old stayed and later had sex with the teacher in her bedroom, the affidavit states.
The teacher and student sent each other Snap Chat messages of each other’s genitalia during the sexual relationship, police said. A 12-year-old female friend of the victim said she discovered one of the Snap Chats accidentally after borrowing the victim’s phone. The message showed McCormick wearing nothing but a towel, along with sexual comments, according to the probable cause affidavit.
