A high school employee in Delaware was recently arrested after sending explicit images to a 16-year-old student, authorities say.
Emma Brewington, 21, has been charged with one count of providing obscenity materials to a person under the age of 18, according to a press release issued by the Delaware State Police.
Police Started Investigating After Receiving a Tip, Found Explicit Photos Sent by Brewington on Student's Phone
Brewington was employed as a paraprofessional at Laurel High School in Laurel, Delaware – around 15 minutes away from the Maryland border. Brewington is from the nearby town of Millsboro. It is currently unclear if Brewington is still employed at the school.
On Oct. 16, a criminal investigations unit with the state police received a tip from the high school that Brewington sent explicit images to the alleged victim, law enforcement allege. The nature of those referenced images has not been made public.
A nearly monthlong investigation determined the teacher's aide and the student in question "had been communicating electronically since September," state police said. "The messages and photographs continued until the student's parent learned of the relationship and reported it to the school."
After the student's parent told school officials, however, the communications between the two allegedly ceased, according to law enforcement. "During the investigation, detectives found explicit photos sent by Brewington on the student's phone," the press release reads.
Brewington Facing 5 Years in Prison if Convicted
On Nov. 14, a warrant was issued for the educator's arrest. Brewington turned herself in to Delaware State Police Troop 4 in Georgetown on Nov. 16. The defendant was released on her own recognizance soon after her arrest and arraignment by a justice of the peace, police said.
She is next slated to appear at the Sussex County Court of Common Pleas on Nov. 22 for a preliminary hearing. The crime of obscenity is typically a class G felony under First State law – the lowest class of felonies. The crime becomes a class E felony, and the potential penalty becomes significantly higher, if a minor is identified as the recipient of obscene material in Delaware.
Brewington faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted as presently charged.
