Tom GantertCharleston, WV – A former Miss Kentucky pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sending topless photos of herself to her 15-year-old student.
Ramsey Bearse, now 29 years old, won the Miss Kentucky pageant in 2014 under her maiden name of Carpenter, according to People.
Bearse played a fiddle to impress the judges and win Miss Kentucky.
A year later, she placed 12th in the Miss America pageant, People reported.
The former beauty queen graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts degree in special education with a focus on learning and behavior disorders, according to People.
After her reign as Miss Kentucky, she moved to West Virginia and became a teacher at Andrew Jackson Middle School in Kanawha County, according to a post on the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office’s official Facebook page.
Bearse was arrested in 2018 after the victim’s parents found topless photos of the teacher on their 15-year-old son’s phone, according to People.
The teacher claimed she had meant to send the photo to her husband and sent it to the 15-year-old student by mistake.
However, Bearse claimed the student wanted more photos and she was afraid not to comply, CBS News reported.
“I was afraid to not appease him,” she told the court.
Bearse and the student exchanged photos from August through October of 2018, with the teenager sending the teacher at least one picture of his genitals, WOWK reported.
She was arrested and charged with distributing obscene materials to a minor, according to the press released.
Bearse was released on a $10,000 property bond and was suspended from her teaching position immediately.
On Dec. 17, she pleaded guilty to one count of possessing material depicting minors in sexually explicit content, WOWK reported.
“Since I am the adult, and he was just a teenager, it is my fault, and I accept full blame for the situation,” Bearse told the judge. “So that’s how I’m guilty of this crime. I messed up big-time.”
Bearse is currently out on bond but could face up to two years behind bars when she is sentenced, WOWK reported.
She will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.