A teacher’s decision to engage in an ongoing relationship with a student may cost the Charleston County, South Carolina, school system big money in a pending lawsuit. Back in December 2017, Jennifer Olajire-Aro, 27, was arrested after a student told another teacher that he was being forced to have sex with Olajire-Aro, his math teacher.
It was Olajire-Aro’s first year teaching at Burke High School and she was also a mother of a 10-month-old child with a husband who was completing the residency program at the Medical University of South Carolina, according to the Post-Tribune. The lawsuit states that Olajire-Aro had sex with the teen on school grounds, in her car and at her residence, including in front of her child. At some point during the illicit relationship, the teen wanted to stop and Olajire-Aro was not happy. In fact, she was so displeased that she lowered his grade from 98 to 89.
After the student told another teacher about the affair, she informed school administrators and an investigation was launched that eventually led to Olajire-Aro’s arrest. She confessed to the sexual encounters and was charged with sexual battery. While her case is pending, she is still a paid employee of the district.
The student’s family stated in their recent lawsuit that the school district has a “history of employees engaging in romantic relationships with students” and failed to properly supervise Olajire-Aro.
