Utah Teacher Accused Of Sneaking 14-Year-Old Student Into Classroom In Storage Bin

A middle school teacher in Utah has been accused of having a relationship with a 14-year-old student and sneaking her into his classroom in a storage bin during school closure.

Lucas Sloan Talley, 38, has been teaching at South Hills Middle School for 12 years. He was charged with two counts of kidnapping on Friday.

Riverton Police Department launched an investigation after getting reports about the teacher's inappropriate relationship with the teen over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Talley has reportedly maintained personal contact with multiple young girls during his teaching stint. According to the court affidavit, his contacts via text messaging and email were mostly personal in nature and not school-related.

He allegedly started having an emotional relationship with the 14-year-old girl in April 2019. He also discussed details of his marriage, anxiety and depression with her.

It was also found that Talley visited the student at her home to bring her treats and spend time with her. The investigation recovered evidence in the form of emails, text messages and video messages, in which Talley expressed his love for the girl.

Talley reportedly planned two meetings with the girl during the school closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On two separate occasions, Talley asked the girl to get into a large storage bin upon arrival at the school. He then used a dolly to wheel the said storage bin into his classroom, reported local news outlet WVLT.

Talley admitted to the investigators that the girl had been unaware of the plan until she arrived at the school. He reportedly hid the girl in the bin as she was not supposed to be at school during those times.

The investigators were told that Talley had touched the girl inappropriately several times. The teen girl admitted that she had felt uncomfortable and feared that "something sexual was about to happen" between them.

The girl's mother already warned Talley in June 2020, asking him to stop communicating with the teen, reported news outlet KSL TV. Despite the warning, however, he continued his relationship with the student.

Talley told the investigators that he was struggling with anxiety and depression. According to him, he felt that his ego needed validation from his female students. "When the school shut down due to the pandemic, he really struggled with not having this validation, so began talking with this female victim daily Monday through Friday," the affidavit said.

However, Sandy Riesgraf, Jordan School District spokesperson, clarified that Talley is no longer employed with the school district. Talley reportedly resigned from the school a week before the arrest and is now booked into Salt Lake County Jail.