After an investigation took place in Memphis, Tennessee, a sexual relationship between a teacher and a student was revealed - but that wasn't all there was to the story. In addition to the secretive affair between the 16-year-old former high school student and the 24-year-old algebra teacher, records have shown that he exposed the affair when she refused to pay him a blackmail sum.
Allegedly, the teenager outed his female teacher after she refused to pay him $140 to keep the secret between them. The legal records were released on Wednesday, including hundreds of messages between Jasmine Edmonds and the unidentified teenager she previously taught at Trezevant High School in Memphis.
Nearly 240 text messages between the pair were submitted as evidence, with the correspondence including proof that the 16-year-old attempted to blackmail the educator. One of the screenshotted messages showed how he turned on Edmonds after she refused to pay him to keep quiet, warning that he'd expose the affair. The message, which was sent at 9:30 pm, read:
“You Said We Had A Bet & If You Lie Our Little Secret Going To Be Out There That’s Not A Threat It’s A Promise. Then You Not Trying To Answer Or Text Back I Got Proof of Everything So 140 Tomorrow Or Your Career Over On My Grandma.”
According to WHBQ, a Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Memphis, the teenager was previously expelled from the school in March for throwing rocks at Edmond's car, as well as speaking to her over text messages.
Other records from the case were released by the Tennessee's State Board of Education, which included a statement from Trezevant High School's basketball coach. He saw Edmonds waiting for the student after basketball practice, he assumed at the time that the teacher was giving him rides home and didn't investigate any further.
In addition to this, the teenager's mother provided a written statement to school officials on the matter. She revealed that she had previously invited Edmonds to her house for Thanksgiving, as the teacher didn't have any relatives of her own to spend the day with. The mother added that she "didn't have any knowledge" of an ongoing relationship between her son and the teacher.
However, the documents released on Wednesday, which amount to around 60 pages, show that the relationship goes as far back as February 2018, WHBQ reported. Despite this, Edmonds was only indicted in November that year.
She is currently facing charges of two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, and remains free after posting a $50,000 bond last week.
