Kandace Marie ChristopherA Scottsboro City Schools teacher in Jackson County, Ala., has been arrested on suspicion of having sexual relations with a female student over the past three months.
Scottsboro Police Department investigators say Kandace Marie Christopher, 26, of Fort Payne, was arrested Monday on a charge of being a school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of 19 and another charge of a school employee having sexual contact with a student under 19, according to a news release from the police department. The investigation is headed by Scottsboro Police Detective Lt. Erik Dohring.
Christopher is the second Chattanooga-area teacher arrested in as many weeks on suspicion of having sex with a student.
Last week, the Whitfield County Sheriff's Office arrested Elizabeth Scroggs, 32, of Ringgold. Scroggs was a teacher at Coahulla Creek High School, and is accused of having sex with an 18-year-old student.
Christopher, meanwhile, is free on a $16,000 bond; no court date has been set.
Scottsboro City Schools officials issued a statement Tuesday about the incident, stating that officials got a report of misconduct involving a teacher that they relayed to authorities.
"We immediately notified [the Alabama Department of Human Resources], the Scottsboro Police Department, and the Alabama State Department of Education," the statement said.
During an internal investigation, Christopher submitted her resignation "effective immediately," according to school officials.
Scottsboro police said they got a call Sunday about a missing juvenile whose parents said had run away after being confronted about a relationship with a teacher/coach from school.
Detectives followed up on the report with a criminal investigation that police say revealed that the relationship involving the female student and teacher took place over the past three months. The girl was located several hours later and was returned to her parents, police said.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.