Elementary teacher accused
of having sex with boy, 13

updated 1:31 p.m. ET Feb. 9, 2005

McMINNVILLE, Tenn. - An elementary school teacher has been charged with having sex with one of her students, a 13-year-old boy, at his home and at school, authorities said Tuesday.

Pamela Turner, 27, was charged Monday with 15 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and 13 counts of statutory rape for acts between November and January.

Turner, who teaches physical education at Centertown Elementary, lived at the boy’s house “for a brief period of time when she was moving from residence to residence,” Warren County prosecutor Dale Potter said. The boy’s parents did not know anything about the relationship, he said.

FREE VIDEO Teacher-student affair Feb. 9: Warren County, Tenn., District Attorney Dale Potter talks with "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer about the case. Today show

Potter said Turner was arrested Monday in Clarkrange, her hometown about 55 miles northeast of McMinnville in central Tennessee.

Conviction on all counts could be punished by up to 100 years in prison. But Potter said it was more likely that a conviction would mean a minimum of a year to several years in prison.

Turner is free in lieu of $50,000 bond. She’s been placed on leave by the school system.

A telephone message left at the home of her father, who lives in Clarkrange, was not immediately returned Tuesday evening.

Turner’s husband filed for divorce in January, alleging inappropriate marital conduct, according to the Southern Standard newspaper in McMinnville.

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