American teacher had sex with teenage boy, blames school

Inquirer.net File photo

As the old saying goes, “We are all responsible for all our actions,” but apparently, Mary Beth Haglin never heard of it growing up.

The substitute teacher from  Iowa, USA,  is in hot water after allegedly having sex with her 17-year old student. Aside from her scandalous affair, the 24-year old is also pinning the blame of her illegal discretions on education officials of the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

“These people all knew what was going on, and yet they turned a blind eye because they wanted to protect their school. They didn’t want it to get into the limelight,” Haglin, who was accused of having sex with the teenager in October,  was quoted as saying in a New York Post report.

“They allowed this to happen. They knew in February,” she said.

Haglin, a sub at George Washington High School, was arrested last week and is currently facing charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. If proven guilty, she could face up to two years in prison and would also have to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years.

School district officials, meanwhile, claimed they didn’t act faster against Haglin, due to miscommunication with a local agency that provided substitute teachers.

The accused, who’s currently out on bail and who has been ordered to steer clear from her victim, said school officials didn’t want to know what was going on.

“They didn’t ban me,” Haglin explained in the report. “They never actually said they were banning me from school grounds, they never said they were banning me from working at any other school, they never said they were banning me from thus-and-so many feet of any school. They never said any of that.”

She also waffled between blaming school officials and herself for the ugly mess. “I do take responsibility,” she said. “I’m not shying away from this. I’m facing this head on.”

The accused added: “I no longer have a desire or wish to contact or see this person ever again. And I don’t want him to contact me.”

Haglin will appear before a judge in a preliminary hearing and an arraignment on Aug. 12 and Sept. 1, respectively.  Khristian Ibarrola/rga