US Teacher Charged With Sex Abuse After Being Found Undressed In Car With Student

A married substitute teacher was arrested in Nebraska after being found undressed in a car with a teenage boy. The incident took place on a dead-end road near Bennington on April 13 around 3 am. Deputies discovered 45-year-old Erin Ward with a 17-year-old boy in the backseat of a Honda sedan. The boy was later found in a nearby neighborhood, clad only in underwear and a T-shirt.

Ward allegedly confessed to having sexual intercourse with the boy, confirming that he was a 17-year-old student at one of the high schools where she worked. The vehicle involved in the incident belonged to Ward and her spouse. Both Ward and the teenager received minor medical attention following the incident. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an ongoing investigation and is working closely with Omaha Public Schools.

Burke High School principal Darren Rasmussen released a statement, informing that a metro-area substitute teacher had been arrested for inappropriate conduct with a minor and had worked at Burke High for several days during the 2023-24 school year. The individual will not be returning to the school or any others in the district, and counselors will be available for students in need of support. In a separate incident, Jessica Sawicki, a 37-year-old English teacher at Hamilton High School West in Trenton, was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.