Ex-teacher accused of sex assault

A former Crossett High School agriculture teacher is facing sexual-assault charges after an Arkansas State Police investigation.

Amanda Leigh Reilly, 31, faces two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of solicitation of first-degree sexual assault, according to court documents from Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Deen’s office in Monticello.

She will have her first appearance and be formally charged June 24 in Hamburg.

Crossett School Board President Glenn McIntyre said Thursday that the board accepted Reilly’s resignation May 13 but declined to comment further.

A number for Reilly, who now lives in Greenbrier, could not be located. She had no attorney on file as of Thursday,according to the Ashley County circuit clerk’s office.

An Arkansas State Police report dated April 22 said officials at Crossett High School were alerted by the parents of a 16-year-old male about “inappropriate” text messages between their son and Reilly “regarding hugging,” and that they “were concerned for his safety.”

When confronted about the allegations by Crossett School District Superintendent Tommy Tyler and Crossett High School Principal Alicia Brown, Reilly denied inappropriate conduct with the student, the state police report said.

On April 3, the student’s mother told state police investigators that her son was noticeably upset, saying to his mother that Reilly “won’t leave me alone with these text messages,” the report said.

When the student’s mother asked if he and his teacher had sex, “he started crying and told her that he hasn’t had sex with her. He told her that he kissed [Reilly] one time, and that she had touched him in his private area,” according to the report.

The student then told investigators that “sometime in February while at [Reilly’s] house, she put her hand inside of his pants … and he put his hand inside her shirt and touched her breast,” the report said.

Further, the boy said that while at the teacher’s house during spring break, “she touched his [groin] on the outside of his clothes and then asked him [if she could perform oral sex]. When he told her no, she got mad at him,” according to the report.

Tyler declined comment on the situation Thursday, saying only that “it is in the hands of law enforcement right now. [Reilly] is no longer employed [by the district.

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Northwest Arkansas, Pages 14 on 05/27/2013

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