14 DAY TRIAL // On Wednesday, authorities in Bellefontaine, Ohio, announced that a fourth-grade teacher had been retained for soliciting clients, as part of her second “job.” The 35 year-old woman reportedly used the school's computer to log on to the Craiglist website, and hook up with “clients.” She was captured following a police sting action, which at the end saw her incarcerated, facing two charges – misdemeanor prostitution and a felony count of unauthorized use of property. She was later released from custody, but the school management placed her on administrative leave.
Amber Carter, the teacher, placed an add on a popular dating website, and waited for a hit-back. In the meantime, the police received an anonymous e-mail, saying that a local female was posting soliciting adds on the Internet.
Lt. Rob Bibart, of the County Sheriff's Department, stated that they received the notice on the 4th of February, and that a sting operation was subsequently organized. “It was done very subtly. We pulled up, I identified myself. I put her in an unmarked car, and off we went,” the officer pointed out on Wednesday. It still remains unclear for how long has been Carter soliciting, but police officials maintain that it must have been a while.
“It's really a shock. She's never been involved with any disciplinary issues or anything else. She's done a very good job,” Larry Anderson, the Bellefontaine City Schools Superintendent, explained and added that the woman had been working in the school system for over 13 years, after she started her career as a kindergarten teacher. The small city of 13,000 inhabitants was understandably outraged by the arrest, and shared they had no idea their kids were being thought by such a person.
What made her crimes worse was the fact that she used the school's computers to access the website and post the adds, as well as to check her inbox and set up the actual dates, hence the felony count of unauthorized use of property. Also, she took half a sick day off, in order to be able to meet with her “client.” Amber refused to comment for the media, and a reporter calling her number had little success in getting her point of view on the incident.