High School Teacher Miranda Pauley Arrested For Allegedly Having Sex With Minor

A Virginia high school teacher was arrested on May 31 after she was accused of having sexual relations with a minor.

Miranda Nicole Pauley, 34, taught biology at Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, Virginia, when she engaged in the alleged indecent behavior. Sgt. James Cooper of the Hanover Sheriff’s Office told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Pauley had a sexual relationship with a minor, refusing to confirm whether the victim was a student of the same institute that the accused taught in.

The alleged affair between the teacher and the minor started in December 2017 and continued till last month.

Pauley was charged with four felony counts of indecent liberties by a custodian and one felony count of use of a communication system for crimes against children — all of which fall under class 6 felonies. A preliminary hearing for the accused is scheduled for July 12.

She was released from the Pamunkey Regional Jail on Friday after being held on a $50,000 bond. As part of the bond, Pauley should have no contact with any individual under the age of 18 without his or her guardian or an authority present. She was also ordered to stay away from the high school property except to collect her belongings. She is also legally forbidden to leave Virginia without the permission of the court.

According to local reports, Pauley engaged in sexual behavior with the minor victim at least once on the school property.

“This news is very disturbing, and we take these matters seriously. We became aware of the arrest this afternoon and immediately referred it to our Human Resources Department” Hanover County Public Schools said in a statement, Fox News reported. “While our policy prohibits the release of specific details concerning personnel-related matters, we will continue to work closely and in full cooperation with the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office.”

Pauley’s employment was terminated following the arrest. She had been serving at the high school since 2006.

According to legal expert Todd Stone, if any of the charges against Pauley is proven, it could “put her on the sex offender registry, which is something that follows her for a long, long time.”

Meanwhile, a mugshot of Pauley created quite a buzz on social media as she was seen smiling after her arrest. Also, a number of photos on her presently-deleted Facebook account showed Pauley posing with her students inside the school, wearing sports jersey.

Another teacher from Patrick Henry High School, 45-year-old Walter Summerfield, was also arrested back in December after a year-long investigation revealed he engaged in a sexual relationship with a student over the spring break in 2016, CBS-affiliated WTVR reported.

Summerfield, who had worked in the navy for 26 years before becoming an instructor, was charged with four counts of indecent liberties by a custodian.