Tom GantertBerryhill, OK – An Oklahoma teacher was arrested and charged with rape after being accused of having a threesome with another student and an adult woman at her home.
Joyce Churchwell, who is married, turned herself into to police after a warrant was issued for her arrest on Tuesday, according to KOTV.
The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office said that Churchwell sexually abused a teenage boy during the 2018 and 2019 school year. The Daily Mail reported the student was 18 in mid 2019.
“He admitted that this encounter had taken place at the teacher’s home along with another adult female – a former teacher at the school district,” said Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office communications director Casey Roebuck.
An investigation started in December of 2019 after the school resource officer received a tip, according to KOTV.
Police talked to witnesses and then discovered that Churchwell had talked with the student on the social media app Snapchat. Police said that Churchwell asked the student to come to her home and have a threesome with another woman.
The Daily Mail reported that the other former teacher also messaged the student and had said that Churchwell’s husband was out of town.
The sheriff’s office also discovered that Churchwell had sent a similar inappropriate message to another student who didn’t act on it, KOTV reported.
Police think there could be more students involved.
The Berryhill School District released a statement that said the district contacted law enforcement about allegations of an inappropriate relationship between a student and a teacher.
“The district is currently cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation of these allegations and will take appropriate action when the investigation is completed,” the school district stated, according to KOTV.
Churchwell, who is also a high school volleyball coach, was placed on leave of absence. She is being held in jail on a $5,000 bond, according to the Daily Mail.