A former Putnam City Schools teacher accused in February of sexting a student has been charged in Oklahoma County District Court. Whitney Fetters, 28,is charged with one count of soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor by use of technology and one count of marijuana possession.
Fetters was a Spanish teacher at Hefner Middle School when a former student and his parents reported to police in January that the pair was engagedin sexually explicit conversation. The boy said that he met the teacher when he was a 12-year-old middle school student, and the two began exchangingnon-sexual texts. When the teen began high school at 14, he says the conversations became sexually explicit and included the teacher sending him semi-nudeand nude images. The former teacher is accused of making arrangements with the teen to meet her at a home where she would be house-sitting so the twocould "get high and have sex," according to a warrant.
Reports say that the teen's friends reported to school officials that he had sexually explicit images of an adult woman on his phone. When administratorsapproached the teen at a school function, they say he deleted the images as well as an app.
Allegedly, the boy admitted to authorities that he instigated the sexual relationship, saying that he told the teacher she was "hot"and sent her a semi-nude picture of himself. From there, the relationship allegedly progressed, and the woman is accused of exchanging both still photosand sexually explicit videos with the teen.
Unfortunately for the accused, it doesn't matter "who started it" under Oklahoma law. If the child involved is a minor under 16, soliciting sexual conductor communication is a felony, regardless of apparent consent of the minor. Additionally, Oklahoma law prohibits sexual conduct or activity betweenstudents and teachers within the same district, even if the minor has reached the age of consent (16) or attends a different school than that in whichthe accused teacher or employee works.
Soliciting sexual conduct or communication with a minor by use of technology is a felony sex offense prohibited in 21 O.S. � 1040.13a.It is punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000. Additionally, it is a Level 2 sex offense. Anyone convictedof a Level 2 sex crime in Oklahoma must register as a sex offender every six months for 25 years.
