A Georgia high school biology teacher has been arrested for alleged sexual misconduct with one of her students, including consummating their affair in a closet on school grounds.
Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office took Maris Nichols, 25, into custody on two felony counts of “sexual assault by persons with supervisory or disciplinary authority,” Fox5 Atlanta reported.
Nichols, a teacher at Alexander High School and also a staffer with the school’s football program, is accused of sexual relations with the student on two occasions; once on April 23 in a school closet and again on May 2 in a Hummer parked in a residential driveway, authorities said.
The high school is located in Douglasville, a city of 35,000 about 25 miles west of Atlanta. The school has a population of about 1,800 students.
The arrest represents yet another case of educator sexual misconduct that leading researchers say has become “rampant” in the U.S. in the past two decades, as Breitbart News previously reported in an exclusive investigation of the disturbing trend.
The Douglas County School System released a statement saying it was “deeply troubled” by the allegations.
“Upon learning of the alleged misconduct, the district immediately launched an investigation,” the statement read. “The Douglas County School System will continue to cooperate fully with state and local law enforcement. The district cannot provide additional information regarding the allegations. Any further inquiries should be directed to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.”
Nichols made her first appearance before a judge via video on Friday, WSB-TV in Atlanta reported, with the judge holding the teacher in the county jail on a $40,000 bond.
Educator sexual misconduct has been occurring regularly across the U.S. in districts large and small, in large cities and small towns, in public schools and private ones, Breitbart News reported in March.