A Texas teacher admitted to forcing teens to perform sexual acts on one another as well as herself. However, despite her guilty plea, the judge decided to make an example of the sadistic educator.
As a Texas educator, 40-year-old Leticia Lowery had unlimited access to numerous impressionable students. The teacher and part-time tutor was employed in several school districts when she preyed upon several of the children under her tutelage in the worst possible way.
When parents entrust their children to the public education system, there are countless dangers that pose a threat to their innocence. The last thing they should have to worry about is the teachers who are charged with guiding and protecting them. Unfortunately, not every educator is as concerned with the children’s wellbeing as they seem.
According to The Heavy, Lowery began sexually grooming a 13-year-old boy who had been receiving tutoring after class. The boy’s mother called the police after discovering sexually explicit text messages between the pair. The victim then told investigators that he and Lowery were in a relationship and that she had sex with him just days before he turned 14.
The boy also confessed that Lowery forced a 13-year-old girl, who he was dating at the time, to perform oral sex on him in the teacher’s van while she watched. He admitted that Lowery had watched the children perform various other sex acts, investigators say. The accusations led authorities to arrest and charge Lowery with several crimes against a child, Oxygen reports.
“Lowery preyed on our community’s most vulnerable and has demonstrated her sexual interest in children,” Montgomery County assistant district attorney Laura Bond said in a statement. “She violated children to satisfy her own selfish desires and this sentence reflects this community’s intolerance for child sexual offenders.”
Lowery pleaded guilty to the charges, hoping that her admission would grant her sympathy from the court and, subsequently, a lenient sentence. However, the judge wasn’t buying her reformed persona. Making an example of her, the judge sentenced her to 20 years in prison for second-degree sexual assault of a child plus 20 years for first-degree sexual performance by a child. Although the two 20-year sentences will be served concurrently, two decades behind bars is quite a harsh punishment in comparison with similar cases.
“It prevented the children involved that she victimized and sexually assaulted from having to testify and I think that’s a win all day,” said Asst. District Attorney Laura Bond. “I think oftentimes when people hear about offenses that are committed by a female against a male child, people tend to minimize it but the effect on the child is still the same.”
Although Lowery received a stiff sentence, she could get even more time thanks to another case. In Harris County, the teacher was charged with online solicitation of a minor child, who was 15 at the time of the crime. The boy also claims he and Lowery had sex on a couch in her home when he was 14.
“When people hear of an older woman sexually assaulting a male child, they often fail to fully appreciate the long-term, painful consequences of these actions,” Mike Holley, first assistant district attorney, told Oxygen.com. “Leticia Lowery brought pain to some and sought to bring misery to others because of her overwhelming, irrepressible selfishness. With this plea, we can achieve some measure of accountability, and we can certainly stop Lowery from preying on others.”
Because Lowery is considered a repeat offender, she was expected to receive yet another harsh sentence to run consecutively, adding to her time behind bars.
“When a defendant commits a sexually related offense against a minor at the same time they are facing felony charges in another county for similar conduct, you can be assured that the only thing that will stop them is a lengthy prison term,” District Attorney Brett Ligon added. “Fortunately, we were able to do just that in this case.”
Lowery, who also goes by Letty Lowery and Leticia Giljum, is married with two young daughters. She had worked with the Klein Independent School District, the Tomball Independent School District, the Waller County Independent School District, the Conroe Independent School District, and the ComQuest Academy Charter School.
Some of the text messages Lowery sent to her teen victims include promises to do “whatever he was comfortable with,” showcasing the sophisticated grooming process inherent in most cases of sexual abuse of children.
Lowery’s crimes highlight the danger to children and teens not only via social media but also from those closest, most trusted individuals. Starting at a very young age, children spend a major portion of their lives under the influence and care of teachers. This is why it is crucial that parents maintain vigilance and an open line of communication with their kids.
Source: Tap Worthy Happenings
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