Mo. Teacher Accused of Sexually Abusing Teen After Police See Pictures of Scratches on Him; Student’s Father Also Arrested

Hailey Clifton-Carmack is charged with statutory rape, among other charges

A Missouri teacher faces charges on accusations she sexually abused a student after a witness showed police pictures of scratches on the alleged victim’s back that he said came from sex, court records claim. The student's father was also charged with child endangerment, with police claiming he knew about the alleged abuse and allowed it to continue.

Hailey Clifton-Carmack, 26, was arrested in Texas on Friday and is charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree statutory rape, sexual contact with a student and fourth-degree child molestation, the Garden Ridge Police Department says in a Facebook post. She is awaiting extradition back to Missouri.

Clifton-Carmack, a former teacher at Laquey High School, was allegedly intimately involved with a 16-year-old boy, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department says in a probable cause statement reviewed by PEOPLE.

On Dec. 7, police say a student witness reported an inappropriate relationship between Clifton-Carmack and the alleged victim to a school resource officer, according to the probable cause statement.

The witness told police they had learned about the relationship after the alleged victim showed them pictures of scratches on his back, the statement says, and also claimed they had overheard a phone conversation between Clifton-Carmack and the student in which she allegedly told the teen, “I’m out of state but I can send you money baby,” when told it was his birthday.

Clifton-Carmack was previously “spoken to” about being “too close with students,” by the school superintendent, according to the probable cause statement.

Authorities also claim in the statement the witness said the alleged victim believed he was the reason Clifton-Carmack’s divorce went through.

Police later obtained a search warrant for Clifton-Carmack’s phone and on Dec. 22 recovered messages between her and the student that discussed their alleged relationship.

It is not clear if Clifton-Carmack has entered a plea to any of the charges she is facing.

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A second witness told investigators that the student's father had been told by both the Clifton-Carmack and the teen about the relationship, according to a second probable cause statement reviewed by PEOPLE. The witness claimed to authorities that Clifton-Carmack and the alleged victim used student lookouts while they had sex during school.

The teen's father, whom PEOPLE is not identifying in order to protect the victim’s confidentiality, allegedly told the second witness that he didn’t stop the relationship because he believed they would continue to have the relationship behind his back anyway, the statement says.

The father was charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to jail records. It is not clear if he has retained an attorney or entered a plea.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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