Former school teacher faces charges of an improper relationship with a student

Comments 0 | Recommend 0

January 7, 2009 - 6:02 AM

The Associated Press

McCAMEY - Upton County Sheriff's officials said a former McCamey school teacher is in jail, charged with having an improper relationship between an educator and a student.

Deputy Sheriff Todd Helms said Vanessa Zuniga, 34, is being held at the Upton County Jail on the second-degree felony charge. If convicted, she could face a two to 20 year prison sentence and up to a $10,000 fine. No bond has been set.

Zuniga surrendered Monday to the Upton County Sheriff's Office after being notified by authorities they had obtained a warrant for her arrest, Helms said.

Jail officials would not comment to The Associated Press early Wednesday on whether she had an attorney.

Prior to Zuniga turning herself in, school district Superintendent Donny Wiley said she had resigned.

"The McCamey Independent School District takes any allegation of inappropriate conduct with a child extremely seriously," said Wiley in an online story Tuesday for the Odessa American.

See archived 'Latest News' stories »

Reader Comments

From the editor: Many of you have expressed concerns about some of the harsh anonymous comments from readers. To remedy that, we are introducing new features. You can create your own blog, publish your news and share your photos with the community. Once you fill out a simple form and leave a verifiable e-mail address, you can set up your profile page. It will display all of your contributions and allow you to track issues and easily connect with others.

We want our site to be a place where people discuss and debate ideas that foster stronger communities. We built this for you. Please take care of it. Tolerate broad thinking, but take action against obscene or hateful material. Make it a credible and safe place worth preserving and sharing.

Oldest First | Newest First