A former substitute teacher in Missouri was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday after she was accused of giving students money, alcohol and drugs in exchange for sex.
Carissa Jane Smith, 31, of Dixon, was arrested last November on 19 counts, including statutory rape and sexual contact with a student, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
In September, Smith pleaded guilty to lesser charges of one count of endangering the welfare of a child, and two counts of sexual contact with a student, KRCGTV reported.
Smith worked in the Dixon School District as a paraprofessional and long-term substitute, the district said in a statement following Smith’s arrest last year. She resigned in August 2024.
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Smith would offer students money, marijuana and alcohol in return for sex or to allow her to perform oral sex, the sheriff’s office said in a probable cause statement.
Smith would allegedly meet with the victims at isolated places or while her husband was away for work.
Victims told investigators that Smith would have sex with them at her home or other locations “such as gravel roads or on the side of the road,” the sheriff’s office said. One victim said Smith asked him to have sex with her when he was in middle school.
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The victims told investigators that Smith told them not to tell anyone about their encounters or else she could get into trouble.
One victim said Smith’s husband threatened them with a baseball bat after she told him they were trying to blackmail her with a video of her smoking marijuana with students, USA Today reported, citing the probable cause statement.
Smith’s sentence includes six years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for the charge of endangering the welfare of a child, and two years each for the sexual contact charges.
