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April 9, 2009

Orangefield educator indicted for sexual assault of student



From staff reports



ORANGEFIELD — Jennifer Lea Burton, a teacher and coach at Orangefield Junior High School, has been indicted and charged with three counts of sexual assault and three counts of improper relationship between an educator and a student.

An Orange County jury handed down the indictments Wednesday.

Bond has been set at $120,000 — $15,000 for each of the sexual assault indictments and $10,000 for each of the improper relationship between educator and student indictments. The case has not been assigned to a state district court at this time and no trial date has been set.

The district placed Burton on leave on March 30 after learning that a criminal investigation had been initiated.

Philip Welch, superintendent of the Orangefield Independent School District, issued a statement today after Burton's indictment became official.

“The entire school community is shocked and saddened to learn that a professional teacher might be involved in any crime against a child," Welch said in the statement. "School district personnel will continue their focus on maintaining a safe school environment for our students."

Welch confirmed that a report of the incident has been made to the State Board for Educator Certification, the division of the Texas Education Agency that licenses teachers, and that the school board will consider taking action on Burton’s employment contract at a special board meeting next week.

All of the indictments contain multiple counts. Both sexual assault and improper relationship between an educator and student are second degree felony offenses with a range of punishment from two years probation to 20 years in prison and a fine of $10,000 for each count.

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