SC Teacher Gets Justice, Student Who Slut-Shamed Her Pleads Guilty

Leigh Anne Arthur (image from the I Support Leigh Anne Arthur Facebook page)
Leigh Anne Arthur (image from the I Support Leigh Anne Arthur Facebook page)

Last month, we told you about Leigh Anne Arthur, a teacher from Union, South Carolina who was bullied into resigning when one of her students found a partially nude picture of her on her phone and plastered it on social media. Not long after this story went national, the bottom-feeder was arrested. Well, late last Thursday, Arthur may have gotten her first measure of real justice when the now-former student agreed to plead guilty.

The student pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree computer crime for stealing Arthur’s smartphone, which meets the legal definition of a computer under South Carolina law. On February 18, the student got his hands on Arthur’s phone while she was out in the hall during class change. He then tracked down the picture in a password-protected folder on Arthur’s phone, took a picture of it on his own phone, and blasted it out to other students. Arthur intended to send the pictures to her husband as a Valentine’s Day gift.

Incredibly, school officials initially made Arthur look like the villain in this case. School officials told Arthur that she needed to resign; otherwise she would face almost certain termination. Arthur opted to resign. Interim superintendent David Eubanks initially hedged on whether the student would be disciplined, despite the gross invasion of Arthur’s privacy. It took the student’s arrest on March 4 for Eubanks to finally announce an expulsion hearing. Apparently the student knew how that would turn out, because Eubanks says he’s no longer at the school.

The student was initially charged with aggravated voyeurism in addition to computer crime. However, the voyeurism charge was dropped as part of the student’s guilty plea. According to 16th Circuit deputy solicitor (assistant district attorney) John Anthony, who prosecuted the case, this came in part because he couldn’t find any evidence that the student had any intention of “arousing or gratifying sexual desire” when he blasted out those pictures. Anthony said that while it may have seemed like that was the student’s intent, the investigation revealed that his real intention was merely to “embarrass Ms. Arthur.”

Additionally, under South Carolina law, anyone convicted of aggravated voyeurism must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Given how hard it would be to prove the kid’s intent, Anthony didn’t think he could justify saddling him with the equivalent of a scarlet letter–especially since he had no prior record.

I had initially thought that this kid should have been transferred to the adult system. After all, he’s almost certainly aware of the damage that revenge porn and slut-shaming can do. However, it sounds like the prospect of having to register as a sex offender must have made him understand the seriousness of what he did. He may have also been helped along by the prospect of additional charges for sending the pictures to Arthur’s house.

The teen was ordered to undergo an evaluation by the state Department of Juvenile Justice, and will likely be sentenced sometime this summer in Union County’s family court. If I were the judge, I would not only make this kid publicly apologize to Arthur, but also bar him from being anywhere near a computer or Internet-capable phone until he is 21, except for work or school. I would also put him in counseling. Arthur felt relief more than anything else when she learned the student had pleaded guilty; she believes this is “where his lesson is going to be learned.”

However, it’s not over for her yet. Last month, she sued the district for the way it treated her. Read the complaint here. It contends that the district pushed her out contrary to its own policies, and also damaged her job prospects by defaming her. According to the complaint, even though no one told Arthur what policy or law she violated, district officials told her she would never teach there again. They also told her that unless she resigned within 24 hours, she could face a disciplinary hearing that could have resulted in the loss of her teaching license. Hopefully this student’s guilty plea will bolster her case. After all, Arthur wasn’t the villain here–she was the victim.

Several of Arthur’s friends have set up a support page for her. Send her some love there–she’s going to need it.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.