Cougars in the classroom: The alarming rate of teachers charged with raping young boys in America

A shocking number of female teachers are being charged with sexually abusing under-age students - with new cases being reported almost every week.

Earlier this month, married New Jersey teacher Jessica Sawiciki, 37, was arrested after cops found her half-naked in the back seat of a teen's car at a wildlife center. The mother-of-two allegedly admitted to police she and the student had 'unprotected' sex at least five times.

But she is just one in a long line of alleged female sex predators targeting youngsters across the country, with alarming cases emerging from California to New York.

DailyMail.com discovered that 25 female teachers had been arrested in 16 states in only the last 12 months - and this is feared to be merely the tip of the iceberg as there appears to be no centralized data collection to track this disturbing trend.

Many of the accused are married and one had even been named teacher of the year. In addition to sending sexually charged texts, nude photos and videos, some are buying their victims' silence with cash and expensive gifts.

But why have these cases seemingly become so prolific in recent years? Speaking to leading child psychologist, Dr. Michael Oberschneider, of Ashburn Psychological Services, social media influence has contributed to the abuse dynamic.

'Social media can serve to blur the lines between the student-teacher relationship, which can in turn open the doors to more inappropriate outcomes. 

He explained that 'students now have more access to their teachers through various on-line formats, which can lead to inappropriate communication and even inappropriate relationships of a sexual nature.

 'As we've seen in the news, some female teachers are choosing to put out sexually focused content on sites like OnlyFans, Loyalfans, Fansly and other similar platforms that students can then see and be part of. 

He said that 'even Instagram, and other social media platforms, allow students to see, and to possibly interact with, their teacher in more personal or intimate ways outside of the classroom. 

Another contributing factor, he shared is the 24-hour news cycle is part of that phenomenon we are seeing since more of these cases are being reported.

In his estimation, 80 percent of teachers who abuse students, who are minors, are still predominantly male,

He explains that the research shows, males are more opportunistic and more predatory, more aggressive, with the motivation being focused on sex. 

While female teachers tend to be motivated, it seems, to abuse their students in different ways and for different reasons, and has more to do with emotional conflict, unmet intimacy needs, personal issues, loneliness, feelings of isolation.

Lexy, 23, a teacher from Long Island, feels these predatory teachers give new teachers, like she is to the field, a bad reputation. 

 'It's extremely disturbing and disheartening to see all of these cases of young teachers abusing their power and taking advantage of young students,' she said. 

'As teachers we go into it with full hearts ready to help students and get them ready for their future. You spend the entire day with them and for a whole year you truly get to know these students and I  could never imagine someone going into teaching with the intention of hurting and abusing these students.'

But, a 53-year-old teacher that has been working in the New York City school district for more than a decade, said it so unimaginable with the age gaps and chalks it up as people not considered normal.

'I really don't think they give other teawchers a bad name because it is so over the top.' 

Business Insider's Matt Drange revealed in his report, the emoji-filled text messages from teachers, handwritten complaints from students, transcripts from HR investigations, and a massive amount of pages from disciplinary files of educators investigated for sexual misconduct.

Drange said, the pages 'documented grooming and groping, the sharing of d**k picks and porn, sexualized comments in classrooms, oral sex in bathrooms, and statutory rape,' that he said, in some cases continued for years.'

His report highlights a disturbing pattern that 'school administrators across the United States catastrophically failing to prevent abuse,' and there is no federal agency, he said, that tracks teacher sexual misconduct. 

Drang said during his investigation, he requested disciplinary records and severance agreements from the ten largest school districts in all 50 states, and license revocations from every state's department of education, but his request was met with opposition.

Alabama, Iowa, and Virginia, he said,refused to release any records. While other districts, asked to be compensated, in order for the request to be filled.  

In his report, he wrote that the Hawaii Department of Education asked for $75,060. The Katy Independent School District in Texas wanted $125,352, and the Lincoln Public Schools in Nebraska invoiced $243,836.

While other districts, he revealed, never provided records, including Alaska's Bering Strait School District. In 2019, the BSSD paid $12.6 million to 13 sex abuse victims involving an instructor at the school.

Springfield Public Schools in Massachusetts, was another district he cited, that would not release any records, and claimed it would be an 'invasion of the teachers' privacy outweighing any possible right of the public to know.'

Between 2017 to 2022, at least 1,895 teachers have had unfavorable action taken against their credentials by state education licensing boards for sexual misconduct and inappropriate relationships that may not be of a sexual nature, according to the nonprofit National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, or NASDTEC.

That figure is an underestimation since many states do not provide the reason why a teacher's credentials was suspended or revoked.

Jimmy Adams, Executive Director of NASDETEC said that of the 6,000 incidents that come in yearly, only a very small percentage is sexual misconduct. 

Billie-Jo Grant, a leading researcher on sexual abuse in schools, and President of McGrath Training Solutions, told DailyMail.com that there is no government intervention tracking these incidents.

Between March 1, 2023 to March 21, 2024 there have been 113 arrests of contact to no contact sexual misconduct involving students. 

This number includes both licensed teachers, and other school emplolyees including coaches, adminstrators, teachers aides, and bus drivers.