Teacher Applied to Marry Student

By APRIL CASTRO, Associated Press Writer

(04-10) 01:09 PDT Austin, Texas (AP) --

A woman said her 17-year-old girl daughter was in love with a 27-year-old teacher who lived down the street, and she gave her legal consent for the two to wed.

Now, Randy Arias faces the possibility of a felony conviction and 20 years behind bars under a Texas law that criminalizes student-teacher sexual relationships.

Arias, who taught Spanish and coached track at an Austin high school, was arrested Monday for allegedly having an improper relationship with a student. The arrest came four days after Arias and the teen, accompanied by her mother, applied for a marriage license.

In giving her consent, the girl's mother said the reason was "for love."

Arias, a former track star at Texas State University, took the girl to the movies last month, according to the arrest affidavit. Afterward, he took her to his apartment and the two had sex. The girl told police they had been having sex regularly since, according to the affidavit.

Arias, who has been placed on administrative leave, has no previous run-ins with the law on his record. His attorney, Hermes Flores, did not return phone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The law, passed in 2003, makes it a felony for a teacher to have sexual contact with a student in the same school, regardless of age. The girl in this case was old enough to legally consent when she turned 17, but because he was a teacher at her school, the relationship was illegal.

"Most of these allegations, if they do result in conviction, are usually going to result in probation if the two parties are still in a relationship or parted on good terms," said Shannon Edmonds, director of governmental relations for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.

The law has proven difficult to prosecute. In two similar Dallas-area cases, suspects were cleared by grand juries and never went to trial.

In another case, former Miss Texas contestant Amy McElhenney, then 26, was accused of having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old in the high school where she taught. A Denton County grand jury declined to indict McElhenney, who lost her teaching certificate.

"The outcome of the case may depend on, obviously, age," Edmonds said. "Doing something with a 15-year-old is different from doing something with a 17-year-old."

What is wrong with these people?