COFFEEVILLE, Ala -- An English teacher at a small Alabama high school has been charged with having sex with at least four students and allegedly involving one in a plot to kill her husband.
Officials released few details but said the husband, a gym teacher who taught at the same school last year, was unharmed.
School officials were first tipped off to concerns about the teacher in 2004 by an unsigned letter accusing Sharon Linton Rutherford of sleeping with students, Clarke County Schools Superintendent Gerald Stephens said.
Stephens said the school investigated and informed police, but they had little to go on.
Then, on April 5, one of the students told Coffeeville High School Principal Janice Richardson that he had had sex with the 30-year-old teacher, according to Stephens and detectives.
Authorities declined to comment on the evidence but arrested Rutherford on Tuesday and charged her with solicitation of murder, rape, sexual abuse and two counts of enticing a child for immoral purposes. She was ordered held on $55,000 bond.
Clarke County Sheriff's Detective Ron Baggette said two of the victims were under 16 and he was investigating to determine if more students might have been involved. He said some of the alleged encounters were on school grounds.
"I wouldn't have charged her if I didn't have enough evidence to show it is true," Baggette told the Mobile Register for its Friday editions.
Coffeeville High School, about 75 miles north of Mobile in southwest Alabama, has about 110 student.
Rutherford was put on administrative leave after she was charged. Her husband, James Rutherford, who teaches in another town, did not return calls seeking comment.
Coffeeville Mayor Faye Cotten described Sharon Rutherford as a shy woman and told the Register that she and others in the community were surprised by her arrest.
"We've all been talking about it, and what we can't figure out is, if she really did this, why she would risk everything, just everything?" Cotten said.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops