Crime

​Case dropped against ex-teacher in student relationship case

/ AP

ODESSA, Texas -- A judge has dismissed charges against a former West Texas teacher and swim coach accused of having an improper relationship with a student.

Kathryn Maples, a former history teacher at Odessa Permian High School, was indicted on three counts of an improper relationship between an educator and a student in 2013.

Judge James Rush dismissed the counts on Wednesday, citing a 2015 appeals court opinion that said the original law, under which Maples was indicted, was too broad and unconstitutional. The law was later updated.

Maples was 28 when she was accused of having an improper relationship with a 17-year-old student. She declined comment after Wednesday's court ruling.

Ector County Independent School District Superintendent Tom Crowe says the district has no plans to rehire Maples, who resigned in 2013.

First published on February 18, 2016 / 2:10 PM EST

AP

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