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dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Southaven, MS 11/10/2009) A 22-year-old man is facing charges after he was caught at a public baseball field having sex with a minor.
Police say the man is a teacher at DeSoto Central High, and the girl he was caught with is one of his students.
Southaven officers say they were on routine patrol at the huge Snowden Grove Baseball Complex about half past nine Monday night, when they noticed a couple of vehicles in a back parking lot.
They reportedly found 22 year old Tyler Bigham with a 17-year-old student.
He's charged with sexual battery and is in jail on $200,000 dollars bond.
Parents at that park say that's where the teacher belongs. "They need to be held to a higher standard. I've got kids in school. I don't want that happening to mine." said Sarah Kirk of Southaven.
Bigham worked as a music teacher at DeSoto Central High, primarily with the Pride of DeSoto Band, helping prepare them for competition.
His Twitter page claims he's working on his master's degree at Florida State University.
For now, he's off the job. DeSoto School leaders say he's suspended while the matter is under investigation.
Almost nothing is known about his relationship or the student.
"Not really because it does involve a juvenile." said Southaven Police Chief Tom Long when asked about the young woman.
Police say they can't remember the last time they had a case like this.
But what happened Monday night, shocking as it may seem, might never have resulted in an arrest. How's that? Bigham is 22. The student is 17. In Mississippi they wouldn't have been breaking the law except for the fact that he's a teacher.
Police say the two are within the age of consent, and a grand jury wouldn't necessarily issue an indictment. "A lot of times you don't have luck presenting sexual battery cases involving 17 year olds. We've not had much success with the grand jury in those type cases but there's this subsection that deals with strictly with a person in a position of authority or trust," said Long
Mississippi law singles out teachers, counselors, parents, doctors, ministers, even scout leaders and physical therapists among others, and forbids them from engaging in relationships with anyone under 18.
We're told the girl's parents are very upset at Bigham, but others say perhaps they shouldn't be. "The parents should have been watching for that anyway and the kid should have known better. Teenagers these days seem to do whatever they want to." said Kirk.
But it's the teacher here that's on the hook. Of course Bigham is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but if convicted by a DeSoto County jury, Tyler Bigham can forget that masters degree unless he wants to pursue it from prison during what could be a 30 year stay.
- Teacher arrested with student at park
- Mississippi strictly forbids relationships between students and authority figures
- Parents reportedly had no knowledge of rezendevous
dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Southaven, MS 11/10/2009) A 22-year-old man is facing charges after he was caught at a public baseball field having sex with a minor.
Police say the man is a teacher at DeSoto Central High, and the girl he was caught with is one of his students.
Southaven officers say they were on routine patrol at the huge Snowden Grove Baseball Complex about half past nine Monday night, when they noticed a couple of vehicles in a back parking lot.
They reportedly found 22 year old Tyler Bigham with a 17-year-old student.
He's charged with sexual battery and is in jail on $200,000 dollars bond.
Parents at that park say that's where the teacher belongs. "They need to be held to a higher standard. I've got kids in school. I don't want that happening to mine." said Sarah Kirk of Southaven.
Bigham worked as a music teacher at DeSoto Central High, primarily with the Pride of DeSoto Band, helping prepare them for competition.
His Twitter page claims he's working on his master's degree at Florida State University.
For now, he's off the job. DeSoto School leaders say he's suspended while the matter is under investigation.
Almost nothing is known about his relationship or the student.
"Not really because it does involve a juvenile." said Southaven Police Chief Tom Long when asked about the young woman.
Police say they can't remember the last time they had a case like this.
But what happened Monday night, shocking as it may seem, might never have resulted in an arrest. How's that? Bigham is 22. The student is 17. In Mississippi they wouldn't have been breaking the law except for the fact that he's a teacher.
Police say the two are within the age of consent, and a grand jury wouldn't necessarily issue an indictment. "A lot of times you don't have luck presenting sexual battery cases involving 17 year olds. We've not had much success with the grand jury in those type cases but there's this subsection that deals with strictly with a person in a position of authority or trust," said Long
Mississippi law singles out teachers, counselors, parents, doctors, ministers, even scout leaders and physical therapists among others, and forbids them from engaging in relationships with anyone under 18.
We're told the girl's parents are very upset at Bigham, but others say perhaps they shouldn't be. "The parents should have been watching for that anyway and the kid should have known better. Teenagers these days seem to do whatever they want to." said Kirk.
But it's the teacher here that's on the hook. Of course Bigham is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but if convicted by a DeSoto County jury, Tyler Bigham can forget that masters degree unless he wants to pursue it from prison during what could be a 30 year stay.
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