Idaho teacher sentenced to prison for sexual battery, rape of teen adopted by a local family days prior

A former Idaho schoolteacher was sentenced to prison time for sexual battery and rape of a minor who was adopted out of the foster system by a local family just days before she assaulted him.

Jessica Lawson, 36, accepted a plea deal for felony sexual battery and charges of felony rape of a minor. She previously faced charges of felony delivery of a controlled substance and misdemeanor dispensing alcohol to a minor for allegedly giving the 16-year-old boy marijuana and alcohol, but those were dropped as part of the deal.

Lawson — who taught at South Fremont High School from August 2021 through June 2023 — will face two to 20 years in prison and will have to register as a sex offender, along with attending sex offender treatment. There will also be a no-contact order in place against the victim for 20 years.

An officer from the Saint Anthony Police Department pulled over Lawson’s car on the morning of Nov. 6, 2023 because her vehicle had no visible taillights. The cop found the teen boy driving, having been given the keys by Lawson who was too “drunk to drive,” authorities said.

The boy admitted to having used marijuana, which was given to him by Lawson, and was driven home by the officer. Lawson was arrested later that week after the boy told his parents that she had picked him up that night and described how they had smoked and drank alcohol before having sex.

Lawson called the teen’s parents and admitted to having given him alcohol and picking him up, but denied that “anything else had occurred,” including the alleged sexual acts and substance use.

The teen’s parents, who had adopted him just days before he was assaulted, said that while their son may have had no real idea about what was happening, he will still be dealing with the fallout of Lawson’s violation for years to come.

“It takes a village to raise a young man, especially a young man that has been in and out of foster care, that has never known what it’s like to have a mom and a dad,” the father told the court, according to East Idaho News.

“My son is going to take a long time to heal and he doesn’t even know the wounds that he has yet. He’s not going to understand those wounds until he’s a parent and he’s sending his daughter or son…to the house of a parent that he trusts.”

The teen’s mother also attested that he struggles to differentiate between safe and unsafe situations as a result of his time in the foster care system.

“We brought [my son] in because he needed somebody, and he didn’t have anybody…It was pretty quick that we realized this is a really great kid, and he’s wonderful and he should be in our family,” the mother told the court.

“He’s got a lot of problems because he didn’t have a mom and dad that taught him how to recognize safe people. And you took advantage of that…she knew she could get something from him.”

The victim’s parents believe that Lawson would’ve gotten a harsher sentence if she were a male perpetrator or if their son were a girl, but Senior District Judge Stephen Dunn, who was in charge of sentencing, denied this.

If you have been sexually assaulted and live in New York, you can call 1-800-942-6906 for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the state, you can dial the 24/7 National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673.