Redlands Police arrested a year-old high school teacher in accused of having sex with a teenage boy who fathered a child with the teacher. Laura Elizabeth Whitehurst was arrested at about p. Monday, July 1, after questioning at her home in Redlands. Whitehurst was a teacher at Citrus Valley High School in Redlands, where she was an advisor to the thenyear-old student. Courtesy photo via Citrus Valley High School yearbook. Courtes photo. Whitehurst was arrested today Tuesday July 8, without incident and taken into custody.
Courtesy photo. Under an agreement with prosecutors, in exchange for her plea, Whitehurst was sentenced to five years of probation and up to a year in county jail, and ordered to forfeit her teaching credentials, register as a sex offender, attend sex offender treatment, wear a GPS tracking device and not make contact with the victim. She served six months in jail due to good behavior, and now legally shares custody of the child with its father.
Former Citrus Valley High School English teacher Whitehurst was arrested on July 1, after the parents of the boy, then 17, told the district that Whitehurst had an inappropriate relationship with their son. On May 16 and 17, , assistant superintendent of human resources Sabine Robertson-Phillips questioned Whitehurst about her relationship with the teen. The boy is not named here because this publication does not identify sex-crime victims. Citrus Valley students and staff had reportedly approached Cavanagh with their concerns about the boy, whose attendance, grades and overall attitude had all gone downhill.
On June 21, three days after Whitehurst gave birth, a Citrus Valley employee sent an email to all staff at the site, showing off pictures of mother and child, with the boy seated in the hospital room behind Whitehurst. Let the rumors begin โ again! A similar pattern occurred with Kirkland, a Redlands High special education math teacher who was accused of molesting students from through , Stewart said. After Whitehurst was arrested, two former Redlands High School students came forward and alleged they also had sexual relationships with Whitehurst, who had previously taught at the school.
She was charged with 41 felony counts of unlawful sex acts with minors and later pleaded guilty to six felonies. Whitehurst later agreed to a plea deal and was sentenced to five years of probation and up to a year in county jail.
