KEARNEY, Mo. — A Kearney, Mo., teacher has been charged with having sex with a 14-year-old student and has resigned from his position with the district, according to prosecutors.
Rhett Rigby, who was born in 1987 and is from Oak Grove, Mo., is accused of having sex with the teen girl inside a classroom, on two occasions, at Kearney Junior High School, according to court documents.
Two other incidents happened at the girl’s home, documents showed.
The alleged incidents began last fall and ended in May.
On May 14, school administrators learned Rigby and the teen were involved in the relationship. Rigby denied it, but the girl told investigators she and he exchanged nude photographs via text message.
Court documents also showed Rigby made the girl take a pregnancy test at school when she feared she was pregnant. The test came back negative, documents said.
Rigby faces four charges of statutory rape in the second-degree, four charges of statutory sodomy in the second-degree, one count of sexual contact with a student while on public school property and one count of tampering with a witness.
Rigby was an Algebra teacher at the school.
In addition to teaching, Rigby was a coach for the Oak Grove Heat baseball team. According to a bio on the website, Rigby lettered in four different sports and was a 4 year starter for the Varsity Baseball team at Oak Grove High School.
It was his third year coaching for the team, the website said.
“It’s our jobs as adults to watch out for kids and, so, even if any of it is true, even a little bit, it’s completely wrong,” said parent Hayley Coon. “I think he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
Rigby bonded out of jail Monday evening.
The school district released the following statement Monday afternoon:
“The Kearney R-I School District works diligently to protect its students and makes student safety its top priority. The district takes all allegations of staff misconduct seriously, investigates such allegations promptly and thoroughly, and takes appropriate action to ensure the safety of its students.”
“When the district learned that an employee was alleged to have engaged in misconduct with a student, the employee, Mr. Rigby, was immediately placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The district also promptly reported the matter to outside investigative agencies, including local law enforcement, to facilitate a comprehensive investigation into the allegations.”
“Prior to the district learning of the allegations, at their regular meeting in February, the Kearney R-I School District Board of Education accepted Mr. Rigby’s resignation effective at the end of this 2012-13 school year. Consequently, Mr. Rigby is no longer an employee of the school district.”
“The district will continue to cooperate fully with all investigating authorities and communicate with the student and her family. Because of the nature of these allegations and the ongoing investigation, the prosecuting attorney has asked the district not to comment further on the case.”
FOX 4’s Robert Townsend contributed to this report.
