Teacher found not guilty of threesome with teen student
Shelley Dufresne has been found not guilty on charges related to allegations she had sex with a teen student while she was a teacher in Louisiana
The former high school teacher who was accused of having a threesome with one of her students, who was 16 at the time, and a fellow teacher has been found not guilty.
Shelley Dufresne, a 34-year-old who taught at Destrehan High School, was found not guilty of two counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile when she appeared in a Louisiana court on Wednesday.
Judge Danyelle Taylor said she found the 34-year-old teacher not guilty due to prosecutors not proving their case beyond any reasonable doubt, the Times-Picayune reports.
Judge Taylor told the court evidence provided by the main witness - the teenager who accused Dufresne of having sex with him and having a threesome on another occasion - was untrustworthy.
'I do not believe that the threshold has been met by the evidence presented to this court,' Taylor said, according to the Times-Picayune, before going on to reference the teen's 'propensity to lie' and 'braggadocios nature'.
'Credibility becomes critical. While he is most certainly not on trial here today, his ability and his willingness to tell the truth are paramount issues for this court to consider,' the judge said.
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Dufresne was found not guilty on Wednesday. If she had been convicted, she could have faced 10 years in jail and a $5,000 fine, while also being forced to register as a sex offender. This picture was taken in 2015
Dufresne (right) and fellow teacher Rachel Respess (left), were arrested when a student at Destrehan High School started bragging that he slept with both of them. Dufresne was found not guilty on Wednesday
'This court knows for an absolute fact that (the teen) was willing to lie to the court,' she continued, which was in reference to a lie he told during his testimony about not wearing a watch and claiming that was why he did not remember the time or dates of the alleged sexual encounters.
Taylor added she felt it was likely something did occur, however it had not been proven.
If she would have been convicted, Taylor could have faced 10 years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Taylor had pleaded guilty in 2015 to an obscenity charge, during which time she admitted to having sex with the student. She was given a three-year deferred prison sentence and probation at the time.
Judge Danyelle Taylor (pictured) said she found the 34-year-old teacher not guilty due to prosecutors not proving their case beyond any reasonable doubt
The not guilty verdict was handed down just one day after lurid details about the alleged encounters between the mother-of-three was the boy's 11th grade English teacher at Destrehan High School.
The prosecution had claimed one encounter allegedly included Rachel Respess, 26, another teacher. The teenager and alleged victim, now 19, took the stand Tuesday.
Prosecutors also claimed Dufresne and the student had sex more than 40 times in her Honda Pilot and at her home after football practices.
On September 19, 2014 Dufresne was out for drinks at a bar with colleagues after a football game, the court had been told.
It was alleged the teen was also at the bar with some other football players. One of his friends questioned if the affair with Dufresne that he had been boasting about was real.
This led to a fight outside according to Nola.com and afterwards, the teen and Dufresne went to Respess's apartment, it had been claimed on Tuesday.
The student and the teacher allegedly had sex multiple times at the apartment and at one point, Respess joined in for a threesome, it was claimed during the trial.
However, Dufresne's attorney said there was no sex because the teen 'couldn't get an erection.' But during his appearance on the stand, the teen maintained the trio had sex.
Dufresne said her student threatened to expose nude photos she sent to him. The former teacher was found not guilty on Wednesday
The student said the night he filmed the lewd video was the last time he had sex with Respess or Dufresne (pictured). Dufresne was found not guilty on Wednesday
After the alleged group sex, it was claimed during the trial Dufresne went to buy a pill to increase the teen's stamina.
She supposedly purchased the pill when she went to buy cigarettes but he didn't take it.
The teen filmed also filmed a lewd video of Respess after she passed out from drinking, the court heard.
The New Orleans Advocate had previously reported that the footage showed the student putting his 'private parts in her face.'
The student told the court that was the last night he had sex with either Respess or Dufresne.
The victim told the court he then showed this video to students in the football locker room.
Word soon spread about the lewd clip, prompting officials to investigate.
Authorities did not find the video, but interviewed students who said they had seen it.
The teen apparently filmed it out of revenge because of something that happened in Respess's class the year before.
Dufresne's defense attorney Kim McElwee said on Tuesday the boy blackmailed her client with nude photos.
She said told the court the teen sent here the photos and said: 'At any moment, I can expose this, and you can go to jail, and you'll lose your life as you know it.'
Dufresne made the fake Facebook profile 'Madison Mexicano' to talk to the football player, the court heard before the not guilty verdict was handed down Wednesday
McElwee criticized the court for not punishing the teen for filming Respess without her permission, even though he was a minor.
It was also claimed Dufresne communicated with the student through a fake Facebook account 'Madison Mexicano.'
She used a photo of the cartoon character Speedy Gonzalez.
She alluded to the affair with the Mexican student with the cover photo that read 'I love Mexican boys.'
It was allegedly Dufresne would message the 16-year-old through this account after the two had sex for the first time behind a strip mall.
After the first sexual encounter, Dufresne messaged the teen: 'Good morning sexy.'
After the video incident, she messaged the student from the account: 'I trusted you ... and you showed everyone everything,' according to the Advocate.
She already had to register as a sex offender in plea deal in St. Charles Parish to avoid jail time.
Dufresne had to undergo a 90-day inpatient mental health treatment program, surrender her teacher's license and stay away from the victim and his family.
Respess' case will be heard next month.
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