A young female teacher allegedly sent nude photos to a 16-year-old student and invited the boy for sex while her husband was out of town.
Rikki Lynn Laughlin, 24, exchanged nude photos with a student at St. James High School in Missouri – where Laughlin worked as a special education teacher, according to the Maries County Sheriff Department.
The married mother of one is facing six charges of stalking the 16-year-old, sending him pornographic images and asking for photos of him.
Laughlin married 23-year-old Grant Laughlin in June 2022 and the couple have a one-year-old daughter.
The teacher regularly posts on her social media accounts – where she has shared photos of her spending time with her baby and husband, riding horses, posing with guns and waving Trump flags.
Rikki Lynn Laughlin, 24, allegedly sent and solicited pornographic images from a 16-year-old student at the school where she taught
Laughlin married her husband Grant Laughlin, 23, in June 2022, and the Missouri couple share a one-year-old daughter together. The teacher posted regularly to her social media accounts – where she shared photos of her spending time with her daughter and husband, in her classroom and posing in front of the Trump 2020 flags
According to the Maries County Sheriff Department, Rikki Lynn Laughlin, 24, exchanged nudes with a student at St. James High School – where Laughlin worked as a special education teacher
The interactions between Laughlin and the student took place primarily over Snapchat, where she allegedly sent him an explicit video of her performing a sex act.
The alleged victim claimed they also kissed and said “things progressed quickly” after she contacted him on Snapchat.
Laughlin invited him to her parents’ home while her husband was out of town to have sex, the child said.
The teen told police he made excuses not to meet Laughlin for sex at her home because “he didn’t feel comfortable,” according to the detective’s report.
After people at school started “talking,” Laughlin became concerned and asked the student to delete any photos they exchanged, telling him she could go to jail if the images and videos were discovered.
After the school district where Laughlin worked reported the relationship, a detective visited the student at his home and were able to find some nude photos and explicit content that had been exchanged.
The Maries County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement claiming Laughlin did not deny receiving the photos, but insisted the student initiated their “inappropriate relationship.”
Laughlin claimed, “I didn’t know he was a minor until yesterday.”
The age of consent in Missouri is 17.
After Laughlin gave police permission to search her phone, the detective found a video like the one the 16-year-old had described.
The interactions between Laughlin and the student took place primarily over Snapchat, where she allegedly sent him an explicit video of her performing a sex act.
After people at school started “talking,” Laughlin became concerned and asked the student to delete any photos they had exchanged, telling him she could go to jail if the images and videos were discovered (Photo: St. James High School in Missouri)
Laughlin is now charged with possession of child pornography, tampering with a victim, tampering with physical evidence and sex trafficking of a child. In addition to these charges, she also faces a misdemeanor charge of providing pornographic material to minors
A user on Reddit claimed he was a classmate of the alleged victim. They said, ‘I go to St. James and honestly this shook me to my core because I knew there was a teacher dealing with students that I know scared me. What if this happened to me or my friends?
‘What really touched me was how people reacted. When the student came back to school everyone started congratulating him and praising him and people were posting on Snapchat about how beautiful she is and how lucky he was, which is absolutely disgusting.”
Laughlin is now charged with possession of child pornography, tampering with a victim, tampering with physical evidence and sex trafficking of a child.
In addition to these charges, she also faces a misdemeanor charge of providing pornographic material to minors.
Just one of the charges Laughlin faces could land her in prison for more than 20 years.
She is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 14 for a bond hearing.