Not Guilty!
Posted on 07/28/2010 7:17:17 AM PDT by outpostinmass2
CHRISTIANSBURG -- A former Christiansburg High School teacher was charged Tuesday with having sex with one of her students during the 2008-09 school year.
Diana Eckes Canter, 34, of Christiansburg was charged with eight felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor -- as someone in a custodial or supervisory position having sexual intercourse with a minor. She was arrested Tuesday night and released from the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
Canter resigned from her job as an 11th-grade English teacher Tuesday, said Becky Hawke Wilburn, spokeswoman for the town of Christiansburg.
Canter couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. A phone number associated with the address listed for her in court files is disconnected.
Montgomery County school system spokeswoman Brenda Drake directed all questions about the investigation to Christiansburg police. Superintendent Brenda Blackburn also declined to comment.
The offenses were reported to have occurred between December 2008 and August 2009, and the boy is no longer a student in the school system, Wilburn said. Arrest warrants filed in Montgomery County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court show that the charges against Canter have offense dates of January, February, March and April 2009, with two charges stemming from each month.
So far, Wilburn said, the investigation indicates that none of the offenses took place on campus.
Wilburn said police began to investigate after the boy contacted the police department.
According to search warrant affidavits filed Wednesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court, the boy on Friday "made a report of a prior sexual relationship with Diana Canter, a teacher at Christiansburg High School, while he was a minor going to Christiansburg High School."
Christiansburg police obtained warrants to procure from Christiansburg High School and the Montgomery County School Board office "documents, letters, files, disciplinary actions and complaints made in reference to" Canter between August 2008 and June 2009. Assorted documents were taken from both, but court records don't specify what they are.
According to her profile page on Christiansburg High School's website, Canter taught 11th-grade English, advanced placement English and film studies. She is listed as graduating from Virginia Tech in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in English and in 2000 with a master's degree in education.
According to Montgomery County Public Schools records, Canter had been employed with the school system since 2000 and earned $45,150 annually.
On the website ratemyteacher.com, someone described Canter on July 2 as "The next teacher you'll see on the news. Wants the cute guys to drool and the lonely girls to be in her click [sic]."
However, John Beamer, president of the Christiansburg High School PTSA, said he was surprised to hear about the charges.
Both his son and daughter were in Canter's classes, and he said he never saw signs of misconduct.
"She was a good teacher, and my children enjoyed having her," he said. He recalled Canter as "very competent, and very professional," saying she was always upfront with parents during meetings.
On Canter's CHS Web page, she lists editor with Pocahontas Press as a past job. The owner of the Blacksburg-based press couldn't be reached Wednesday.
The school system requires sexual harassment training for both employees and students at least twice a year. Those trainings include topics about employee-to-employee harassment, student-to-teacher harassment and teacher-to-student harassment, Drake said.
If Canter is convicted, she faces up to five years in prison on each count.
The name of the city will not keep satan out.
LLS
Not guilty.
Classic quote from the principal:
“She was a good teacher, and my children enjoyed having her,” he said.
Not Guilty!
Haha. I’ll bet they did.
SnakeDoc
I’m afraid I’m going to have to vote for acquittal too.
For everyone's consideration.........
Show me “pouty”...
I really can’t understand this. I am 63 and this kind of behavior was unheard of when I was in school.
I’d say not guilty but always wonder why these attractive women can’t find suitable adult male companions.
I must have gone to school in a parallel universe. All I had were a bunch of old ladies with knee high hose and flower print dresses. Oh well...
Ahhh... the magic of makeup and lighting.
She looks like Olivia Munn from G4.
Not guilty.
If the kid had four or more beers, she’ll be not guilty.
No internet back then. Everything kids do today winds up on facebook. Just goes to show how dumb they are today.
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