Java_Bob

Teacher, 21, accused of sex with student, 14


HILLSBORO — A 21-year-old substitute teacher from the Dunklin School District
was charged Friday with having sex with a 14-year-old male student, whom she
knew for years as a friend of her brother.

The Jefferson County prosecuting attorney charged Teresa Engelbach of Pevely
with three counts of statutory rape and one count of statutory sodomy following
an investigation by the Jefferson County sheriff's office.

According to authorities, the investigation began Tuesday after the
eighth-grade student reported the incidents to a teacher at Senn-Thomas Middle
School in Herculaneum. The teacher then told school administrators, who called
police.

The incidents occurred between Feb. 1 and March 13 in several different areas
of the county and did not involve any other students, police said.

Engelbach currently is being treated for an unknown illness at an area
hospital, but she is expected to turn herself in when she is released from the
hospital, said Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer.

The student remains in school, and his family is cooperating with the
investigation, he said.

"The most important thing is to know where your kids are at and know who they
are with," Boyer said. "And if they say they're going to the park, don't be
afraid to go to the park and check."

The district did not have classes on Friday, so a letter regarding the incident
and the charges will be sent home with students Monday, said Stan Stratton, the
district's assistant superintendent.

"We're just going to do the best we can to support the student and work as a
district to get through this situation," he said.