A former English teacher from New Jersey could serve up to a year in jail after admitting she sent nude photos of herself to a pupil via Snapchat and email.
Michelina Aichele, who is 30 years old, was arrested and charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child back in October of last year.
She was apprehended after police and administration staff at the school found photos and conversations of a sexual nature being exchanged between herself and a 17-year-old male pupil.
The messages and images, which had reportedly been sent via text, email, and social media, were sent between February and April in 2018.
According to NJ.com, Police have disclosed that upon interviewing the student, he admitted that the English teacher sent him four explicit pictures of "her exposed bare breasts and buttocks" on Snapchat while he was a junior at her school.
"He further stated that she sent him text messages through Snapchat, stating that she thought about him while masturbating," they added.
Before that, when it was just the school pursuing the matter, both he and Aichele had denied a relationship, with the teacher claiming that students had hacked her phone and sent the snap, officials said. When police intervened, however, the student gave up everything, admitting to the truth.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the teacher had sent the teenager indecent messages on his student email, and had allegedly asked him to take an online test which measures a person's level of sexual experience.
Aichele, who initially reportedly faced up to five years in jail for the offences, pleaded guilty in court on Wednesday for a reduced sentence. In addition to jail time (which is yet to be determined), she has been ordered to give up her teaching certificate, and will be on a sex offender register for the rest of her life.
At the time of her arrest, according to state records, Aichele was making $72,500 as a teacher at the school.
She will be officially sentenced in July.