Schools should be safe havens for our children. They should be free from violence and sexual assault, but sadly in America, that isn’t the case.
In October 2024, Rikki Lynn Laughlin, a 25-year-old married special needs teacher from St. James, Missouri, admitted to sending nude images and video of herself using a sex toy to a 16-year-old student via Snapchat. The boy did not attend the school where Laughlin taught. She also solicited images from him. Her plan was to use them to pressure him into having sex, according to investigators, KRGC reported.
Laughlin faced multiple serious charges, including felony counts of possession of child pornography, tamper or attempt to tamper with a victim in a felony prosecution, statutory rape (2nd degree), sexual exploitation of a minor, and several more.
But on July 24, 2025, Rikki Lynn Laughlin pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of endangering the welfare of a child creating substantial risk in the first degree as a first time offender with no sexual conduct.
Instead of prison time, Laughlin will be sentenced to five years of probation. The New York Post reported that the teen claimed that after the exchange on social media, things “progressed fast” and that they two had kissed. He alleged that she invited him to have sex, but he reportedly gave excuses because he “wasn’t comfortable.”
According to Psychology Today, about 10% of students will fall victim to sexual misconduct under an educator by the time they graduate, whether it is as “mild” as an inappropriate joke to full-blown assault. Of that 10% of students, around 6.7% report that they were sexually touched.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
