Indiana Team Coach Accused of 'Seduction' of Female Student

Authorities say that an Indiana basketball coach has been involved in a relationship with one of her female students for months.

Sara L. Strahm, the girls' varsity basketball coach and a special ed teacher at Pike High School, has been placed under arrest following school officials going to the police with allegations that Strahm, 28, and a 17-year-old female student have had inappropriate contact. Strahm faces charges of child seduction, a Dec. 19 article posted by Indianapolis news station Channel 6 reports.

"The child seduction charge is based on the fact that the coach is in a position of trust because she was involved in a sexual relationship with a student under the age of 18," the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's Sgt. Paul Thompson told the media.

Further quotes from Sgt. Thompson were provided in a Dec. 20 Indianapolis Star article. "We believe there were five instances of sexual contact between these two individuals," Sgt. Thompson said. "State law clearly states that if you're under 18, you can't give consent if it's a relationship with someone in a position of trust such as a school official."

Police have asked that anyone with information relevant to the case to come forward. No details were provided by school officials concerning the identity of the student in question.

"I'm saddened to hear of an arrest," Pike Township School Board Nancy Poore told the Indianapolis Star. "I'm not passing judgment on whether this is accurate information or whether anything will be proven against this person," added Poore. "But I'm always saddened when I hear there's a problem related to one of our staff members."

The allegations come only weeks after a story broke concerning two female teachers at a Brooklyn high school who were discovered Nov. 20 in an intimate situation in an empty classroom by a janitor. The incident occurred as students were congregated elsewhere in the building to see a talent show. Both Alini Brito, 29, and Cindy Mauro, 33, teach Romance languages.

"I can't talk about it, I'm sorry," Robert Colantuoni, the janitor who allegedly caught the pair embroiled in erotic antics and then reported them, told the New York Daily News in a Dec. 9 article. Mr. Colantuoni reportedly mistook the teachers for two female students at first.

The woman, both tenured teachers, have not been allowed to resume classroom duties, pending the outcome of an investigation. The school's administration remained mum, but Education Department spokesperson Margie Feinberg acknowledged that there had been "an incident," saying, "The two teachers have been reassigned pending the outcome of [an Education Department] investigation."

In another case involving a female teacher-student pairing, a British judge declined to forbid contact between a music teacher and the 15-year-old pupil with whom she'd had an affair.

A Sept. 22 article in the U.K. newspaper The Times reported that 26-year-old music teacher Helen Goddard was sentenced to a 15 month prison term and a decade-long inclusion on a sex offender registry, but that the judge declined to bar the teacher from renewing her relationship with the 15-year-old girl whom she was convicted of having an improper sexual relationship.

The Times article said that Goddard took the girl to Paris for an intimate trip, and that the two had enjoyed sexual relations in the residences of the girl's parents, who maintain separated homes. Police also uncovered a trove of graphic text messages that the two had exchanged. The affair commenced after Godard had served as a music instructor to the girl at school, the article said.

Under British law, adults in certain jobs or positions may not have sexual relations with minors in their charge, meaning individuals younger than 18, even though in other cases the age of consent is 16. The prosecution in the case had sought an injunction against Goddard and the girl seeing one another for five years following Goddard's release from prison.

The judge in the case, Anthony Pitt, refused, saying that to have imposed such a restriction would have been "draconian and cruel" toward the girl, who reportedly remains in love with Goddard.

Another affair between a teacher and her female student drew headlines when a Canadian teacher and her former student renewed their romance. A Sept. 14 Toronto Star article detailed how events progressed from a gentle caress to a sexual affair between 39-year-old Leslie Merlino and an unnamed 20-year-old former student, who was 17 when the first flirtations began.

Merlino was sentenced on Sept. 14 to mandatory registration on a sex offender's Web site, where she must remain listed for the next 20 years. The former teacher was also required to submit DNA to the state. Two years to the day before sentencing, Merlino had pled guilty to a charge of common assault for physical contact with the student with sexual intent when the student was still legally a minor.

After that plea, Merlino was ordered to stay away from the girl, but when Merlino was contacted by the young woman, that order was ignored: the two became lovers in the summer of 2007 and enjoyed a weekend together in Quebec two years ago, the article said.

The attraction between student and teacher began in 2006, on a school trip to Spain, the article said. At some point, Merlino stroked the girl's hair--a gesture charged with sexual meaning that led to the common assault charge.

That first conviction meant the end of Merlino's teaching career. Still, things went further, leading to her second conviction on charges of breach of probation and sexual exploitation--although the former student declined to file a victim's impact statement.

But the court ruled that even if the young woman had renewed contact, Merino was the one charged with abiding by the terms of her first conviction.

Said the judge in the case, "Regardless of the wishes [of the young woman], it was Merlino who was in a position of trust and authority."

However, the sentence did not order Merlino to keep away from the former student. The article observed that the two women are free to pick up their affair should they wish, though it is not known if they are still romantically involved.

Neither the young woman nor her parents would comment, the Star reported. A Sept. 15 follow-up article offered a more complete version of events, noting that the young woman lists herself as being "engaged" on her Facebook page, and quoting Merino's attorney, Gerald Logan, who said, "This is a tragic tale of woman who succumbed to temptation and destroyed her career."