When we send our kids to school, we trust that they’ll be in safe hands under the guidance of teachers who nurture their potential. But what happens when that trust is broken? What happens when the very people entrusted with shaping young minds cross boundaries that should never be crossed?Today, we’re diving into 2 disturbing cases of teachers who have violated their roles as mentors and protectors.Contact:[email protected] Blog for updates and insights:https://crimeatorium.com/blogSupport:Donations are appreciated, if you would like to help support the show, use the link below and buy me a burrito and a Diet Pepsi:http://Ko-fi.com/crimeatoriumFor $3 a month, you can support this show on Patreon, in return you will receive ad free, early, and bonus episodeshttps://www.patreon.com/crimeatoriumIf you like the podcast, please share it on social media and with friends, and take a minute to leave a review for Crimeatorium on Spotify, Podchaser or Apple Podcasts.https://www.crimeatorium.com/rate/Music:CO.AG Musichttps://www.youtube.com/@co.agmusic1823Tim Kulig (timkulig.com)Titles: Crimeatorium Intro, SimplicityLicensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0997280/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1Thank you for listening!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/crimeatorium9009/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
When we send our kids to school, we trust that they'll be in safe hands under the guidance of teachers who nurture their potential. But what happens when the trust is broken? What happens when the very people entrusted with shaping young minds cross boundaries that should never be crossed?
Today, we're looking at two disturbing cases of teachers who have violated their roles as mentors and protectors. Everyone has heard of the case of Mary Kay Letourneau. A 34-year-old married teacher, Letourneau made national headlines in 1997 for her relationship with her 12-year-old student, Vili Folau.
This case captured attention not only for the circumstances, but also because it was one of the first to bring such a dynamic into the public spotlight. The drastic age difference combined with her trusted role as an educator made it a cultural turning point in how these situations were viewed.
Letourneau was sentenced to prison where she gave birth to Folau's first child, further amplifying the public's fascination with the case. After being released on parole, she violated the conditions by continuing to see Folau and was sent back to serve the remainder of her sentence. During this time, she had a second child with him.
Despite the scandal and the national outcry, Letourneau and Folau married in 2005 after she completed her sentence. Their relationship endured for over a decade until their separation in 2017. In 2020, Letourneau passed away from cancer at the age of 58. Palau, now an adult, took responsibility for his two daughters in the years following Mary Kay Letourneau's case.
Numerous similar incidents have come to light. Here are just two examples. On April 17, 2006, 17-year-old Ashley Reeves left her home in Bellevue, Illinois, telling her parents she was going to a job interview. When she didn't return home that evening and couldn't be reached, her parents reported her missing.
Police began their investigation by retracing Ashley's last known movements and speaking with her friends and family. During these interviews, one name came up repeatedly, Samson Shelton. Shelton, a 26-year-old high school teacher and wrestling coach, had been spending time with Ashley.
Police brought Shelton in for questioning and at first, he denied knowing anything about Ashley's disappearance. However, after hours of interrogation, Shelton's story changed. He admitted to meeting Ashley earlier that day. During an argument in his car, things escalated and Shelton assaulted her. Believing he had killed her, Shelton drove to a remote wooded area and left her there.
With Shelton's confession, police rushed to the location he described. When they found Ashley, she had been lying motionless in the elements for over 30 hours. At first, they believed she was dead, but as one officer approached, they noticed a slight movement. She was still alive. Ashley was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors work to save her life and treat her severe injuries.
Once Ashley was found, police brought Shelton back in for further questioning. In this second interview, officers informed Shelton that Ashley had survived. His reaction had a casual tone to it and was devoid of remorse, which was shocking to investigators.
He just got back from. But when we found her, she's still breathing. She was responding to light when we were shining the flashlight in her eyes, and she was looking at us. So that's good. Can she hear? I don't know, but she was responding to some of the things we were saying, so I suspect that she is. I'm not a medical person anymore.
I used to work on the ambulance, so I don't really know that much about it, so I can't say a whole lot. the reason I brought you back in here, Sam, so we can talk. I want to go over everything that happened. Okay. You told me a little bit, but you were really upset and it was kind of hard to talk, so I want you to, and here's the thing, you know, I need the 110%. I know. Okay?
And now, you've got to understand, you lie a whole lot. So we're to this point now, and now is the time to just tell me, okay? Okay. So start at the beginning and tell me everything that happened, okay? Okay. And you understand you're still on, you know, this video. Yeah, it's fine. Okay. So I ended up... Hold on a second. While we were out there, I didn't beat you, of course.
Okay.
Go ahead.
Okay. So I met her at Leaven Park at... somewhere between 345 and 4. I think it was probably a little bit before 4. I met her at Latimer Park there. She got in my car, and what we did, we drove down 177. We turned around in the... Do I need to give you where all we went during this? The entire street route? Please, if you know the streets. Okay, as much as I can recall. When's this...
Not the family sportsplex, the bar that's right there. Caddyshack. Went to Caddyshack, turned back around, went down the street, then made a left, right across from McClintock, made a left, turned around, dead end street, came back, hit the family sportsplex. We were driving around arguing the majority of the time. Let's see, hit the sportsplex, came back down,
then made a right over two streets down past that detour sign that's up there, circled around, went back down, and I can't remember if it was Caddyshack or Sportsplex, we turned around and again, just kind of stayed right there in that general area, drove back.
This time I took a right, right after where the Casey's is by the Robbins Nest, took a right, went up that road, came back down, and kind of went left, After we made the right at Robin's Nest, I went to the road where the little triangle thing is in there, circled around that, came down, and turned right, so Casey's on our left, so we turned right back onto 177.
Going back up, went down by Garfield's, went around the block, and... headed back toward, that's where we headed toward Radio Range. And going toward Radio Range right there. And you're driving your car? I'm driving my car. And where is she sitting? She's in passenger seat. Okay. Okay. We get to Radio Range Road.
My intentions were, when I was there, I was so angry at her, I was going to take her, and I just wanted to literally throw her out of the car, is what I wanted to do, get rid of her. Why were you angry at her? Because we had just been arguing over a lot of things, and the major thing was that she was upset because she had mentioned...
She mentioned to me on Wednesday that she wanted to have sexual relations with me. And what do you mean by sexual relations? She just wanted to have sex. Okay. So anyway, I told her it was not a good thing to do. I did not want to do it. And how many times have you had sex with her before? One time. One time.
When was that?
No, no, no. I'm estimating this because I don't know the exact date. I met her at Mardi Gras the Saturday that the big parade was going on. I don't know the date. I think it was the 25th or the 23rd. I'm not for sure. And it was about a week later, maybe two weeks later. Again, I can't give you an actual date. Millside Park in the back of her mom's SUV vehicle. I don't know what time it is.
About what time of day was it? I don't know. It was on a Saturday. Was it dark out? No, it was like 12 maybe? Around that time? I'm not 100% sure. Yeah, so...
Or was it? So you were mad at her because she wanted to have sex, you didn't want to have sex.
Right. And the other thing we were arguing about was that she said, since I did it the first time, why can't I do it again? And that's when I explained to her, I don't think of her that way. And she said, well, I didn't think of you that way the first time. But then I said, no, that's not true, otherwise you wouldn't have done that.
And she said, well, otherwise you wouldn't have done that to me either. I don't know. So we're already arguing about that. So that's where I pulled over and stopped. Now, when I pulled over, I didn't actually get into the grass. I was still on the road itself. So I got out of my car. On Radio Range Road? Yes.
How far off, 177?
I'm not good at estimations. Mile, half mile? I don't think Radio Range is a mile long. Well, I can tell you this. As soon as you make a left, keep going down radio range, and the first little spot that you see that has a little bit of gravel that comes off the road a little bit, it's a patch that's maybe about... that wide. Anyway, I stopped about right there. And that's where I got out.
That's where I opened the door, came over, hit her seatbelt button right there to unlock the seatbelt. And that's where I grabbed her and I started pulling her and pulling her and trying to pull her out of the car. And then when I got her out, like... Okay. If I'm her sitting in the seat, when I tried to get, like when she was up right here, she's trying to hold, she's trying to hold on.
And I just, yeah, I just used all my weight. I just, I just pulled back. I just completely pulled back. And that's where I heard the pop right there. And when I heard, when I heard that, that pop, sorry, that's sickening. Where did the pop come from? It, it heard and felt like a neck.
Okay. Um, Was her head on the top of the roof of the car? Is that why?
No, I had her almost like you're going to give somebody a DDT. You know how they hook for a DDT and go down? I just hooked her and I tried to pull her out. Was she holding on? Is that why or what? She was like grabbing for the middle console in the car right there. When I say middle console, I'm talking about the little flip thing that goes up. And then what happened?
After that, it's just like the body felt. It just went limp. It just went limp. Okay. And it went limp. It went limp.
It hurt. It was just tough.
You have to remember, she's alive. I know. Okay. That happened. I'm never going to forget that. Yeah. Yeah. Her feet were still sort of in the car. I had like a bowel or something, and we'll show you. And when she just felt limp right there, I didn't know what to do. I kind of had hold of her, and I was like, Ashley? And she didn't respond. So I just set her back in the car.
I just kind of had to push her over. I set her in the car, and her neck was just kind of, Like that. It was just kind of like that. And she was kind of going forward a little bit. And I stopped, put the seatbelt on her. And I put the seatbelt on. And at that point, when the seatbelt was on, she was able to stay upright. Okay. Her head was leaning forward like that. It was...
I didn't even want to look. Yeah, I understand. I can't stand breaks. It's one thing that freaks me out. And she was kind of like that, is how I'd say she was. Okay.
And what were you thinking then? You were thinking that she was dead.
At that point, I wanted to rush her to the hospital, but I knew if I took her to the hospital, that all fingers would be pointing toward me, which... They had every right to. I was really scared at that point. I was very, very, very scared. Did you think she was dead at that time? She was not moving and the thing I had to do, I had on, I had to put my hat.
Like, because I couldn't stand looking at her head, face. I had to put it like that. I was looking at the stomach to see if I could see any movement, any breathing. And I didn't see nothing. And I wanted to look at her face to see if she had any color right there.
And then I thought once I heard that pop that maybe automatically she was already dead because I always thought when you break the neck, you're dead. Sure. I mean, through day. Most people, that is true. So, anyway. What were you doing with your hand? I didn't understand that. Oh, I can't stand to see braids, and it was sickening. Was it sticking out in the back or something? I don't know.
I didn't want to look. After I heard that pop and I set it back in, I saw her body was drooping. That's where I turned around, actually, on Radio Range right there. Turned around, and what I'm saying is I kind of popped a U-ey, or did a turnabout, whatever you want to call it. Drove back to 177. Had no idea what I was going to do. No idea. I was thinking hospital.
That was the first thought that crossed my mind. Then I thought, well, maybe I can drop her off at her truck, is what I thought. And I didn't want to do that. So you might thought maybe I can, maybe I can just hide her somewhere. So, Hey, when I was driving, when I was driving down, I remembered since we had gone to citizens before that there's that wooded area that was over there.
So I pulled up to citizens. We got to that first entrance right there. Got out of my car quickly. Looked down. I saw the water in the creek. Got back in. Drove down a little more to the same entrance that we had entered in. Okay. And I remember seeing a tire right there. Okay. So anyway, I saw that I could get her down there. So I opened up the door. Took a seatbelt off. Sorry. Okay.
Her seatbelt off, and I reached in there. You kind of had to like take her legs, take her legs like this, flipped over some, and her feet were out of the car. And then I had to kind of take her. You were thinking she was dead. I did. Yeah, yeah.
was carrying her i was i was carrying her like this and it was almost it was almost like a baby i was trying to support her neck because i couldn't stand to see it neck just anyway so anyway i got her and i said her like right by kind of down but not yet not quite down she was
You talking about by the car?
No, no, I'm talking by the ditch because I went and moved my car.
And then went back into the woods.
Then I went back into the woods, and I looked around. I didn't see a single person, so I thought, okay. Picked her up, and that's where I started taking that creek. I started walking along there, and I made— I want to take—oh, go ahead. Oh, okay. I made— He said, I don't know that route because I had never been in there before. And I just, I remember walking. I remember seeing that little trail.
I walked along that little trail right there. Then I saw the creek again. First thought in my mind, what I was going to do was I was going to take her and I was going to toss her into the creek right there is what I was going to do. Okay. into the creek. Can't do it. I thought, I'm in some deep shit is what I thought. I'm in some deep trouble.
So, I thought, how in the world am I going to cover this up? So, I'm just standing there. I was a nervous wreck, thinking, what do I do? What do I do? So, I remembered in my car, I had this big belt. It was a thick belt, about like that. And it was made of kind of like this kind of material, etc. to make it look like she had got strangled there in the woods.
So while she was laying there, I took the belt, and when I took the belt, I pulled. I pulled it on her neck right there. Around her neck. Around her neck. I had pulled it. And at that point, when I had pulled it, and I held on. I don't know how long I held on, but I held on. And I had to turn my head because I didn't want to see. Did you hear her making any noise? Yeah, that's the thing.
All of a sudden I heard like a gurgle kind of sound. And then all of a sudden when I heard the gurgle, I let go. And when I let go, she had spit foam coming out of her mouth. And I don't know if it was spit, foam. drool, I had no idea what it was, but I saw it coming out of her mouth and then I'd seen that she was the sickest color I'd ever seen.
It looked like, literally like she had stopped breathing is what it looked like. So anyway, after that, she's laying on the ground and I didn't want to, but something just told me I had to look again, and I looked again, and looked at her stomach, there's nothing. So anyway, I took it, I tied it, I kind of tied it like that, boom, in. Okay. It didn't pull apart like that. It stayed.
And it was around her neck, you said? Okay. Fortunately. Okay. So I did that. Okay. And at that point, I heard a noise, and all of a sudden, I saw the stomach go, some went, it was just like, it kind of went up in the air. Okay. know if it was for maybe when I tightened it right there, that air had just pushed in.
So then what I did, right then, I untightened it, and when I untightened it right there, the stomach just went back down. So I thought, okay, it's air escaping. And then one last time, did it again, one last time, same thing happened. And then I heard a noise, and I saw spit. I saw saliva. It bubbled. So I untightened it, and then all of a sudden, it went back in.
And then at this point, her tongue was kind of protruding like that between the teeth. And after that, I got out of there. After that, I shouldn't say that because I looked, and I was watching, and I didn't stay long. I was looking, and I put my ear down right there by her. She did not breathe. So what I did, I took some, I'm sorry, I forgot about this. Take some water.
both times, and then it went back down. So I didn't know. And that's when I listened, and I couldn't hear anything. So I stared at her stomach, because you could see that easily if the stomach was moving. So I'm looking at her stomach. I saw no movement. So I thought, crap. Took these whatever kind of leaves, bushes, it was, that was growing right there.
I picked some of those off and I just covered it. I started covering her face and like her chest and area and everything. So I covered that and I just, after I covered it up right there, I just ran, I'm sorry, when I was... After that, I took my foot, and I kind of went over right there to just strain footprints that may have been there. Okay. And after that, I just took off.
And, I mean, I literally darted through there like a bat out of hell. I darted through there, and I found my way out instantly. I don't know how, but it was like instantly it seemed like I found my way out, and I went up that little – That entrance that we came in, I went up that thing, and then I darted up the hill, got in my car, took off. Where's the belt? I took the belt and I just threw it.
Where did you throw it? I got in the car, and when I was on Highway 15, I just took it. I just tossed it out the window. I tossed it out the passenger. About where were you at on Highway 15? I don't know if there was a first opportunity. There's no cars behind me, I know that. Because I would literally slow down and let cars get around. So she could throw it out. Throw it out.
You said something about when we were on the scene there with her, about one shoe being off and one shoe being off.
Yes. I had no idea. Was there one shoe off or was I seeing things? Both shoes were off. See, when I left, she had both shoes on. She was fully clothed. She was completely fully clothed. And when I saw that shoe, that's what shocked me more than anything. Because when you shine that light right there, and I saw her, did she have any bushes over her face? She had to have moved them.
She had to because she was under those bushes. She was under the bushes. And when you shine that light on her right there, and I saw that, It just, I felt like my heart had just stopped. And then I just looked over and that's where I saw the shoe. It was right there. And that freaked me out when I saw the shoe.
I don't know what freaked me out more when you first shined the light there when I saw the shoe. So. Yeah, both her shoes were off. Okay. But they were up by her head. Really? Yeah. Okay. If you need me to go back there, if you guys have that spot marked where you found her, I can show you where I had put her. Okay. Right there. Do you think she was moving from there? I don't know.
That's what shocked me to death when I saw that. That's why when I got up, I was so happy that she was alive, but then all of a sudden I got really freaked out that her shoe was off and that there was nothing over her. There was nothing there.
Did you put anything around her ankles?
No.
Because it looked like she had some what we call ligature marks around her ankles. What's that ligature? Well, like what you had done around her neck. Oh, no. It looked like there was something around her ankles. Oh, no.
Did you pull her by her feet at any point? No. When I drug her, I did it by the shoulders. I did it underneath. I did it underneath, so I did that.
Well, it sounds like you were thinking that he had killed her and you wanted to hide her so you didn't get in trouble.
Yeah.
But then when you got there, it sounds like from what you were saying... I freaked out. Well, yeah, definitely you freaked out, but it sounds like when you got there... She was still alive, and you had some indications of that.
Are you talking about tonight or Thursday? Last night. Yeah, okay.
When you got her there last night, when you dragged her into the woods, you had some indications that she may have been still alive, but you weren't sure what to do.
Yeah, because—are you talking about when I got her to the woods or into the woods?
You're talking about into it? Into the woods and through the woods with the gurgling and the falling.
Yeah, I see it. One thing I kept thinking of was my grandpa. When he had his heart attack, we were sitting in there by his bed there at St. Elizabeth's where he had died. And I remember I went to give him a hug. When I gave him a hug and I pushed on his chest, all of a sudden I heard this noise. I heard this gurgling noise. And it scared me half to death. And I jumped back.
I can't remember, I think it was my grandma that was right there. I said, he just made a noise. She said, hon, she said, that's just a gurgling noise. She said, you pushed on his chest. So I thought maybe when I first tightened right there, and that gurgling noise, that's what it reminded me of, was from my grandpa. It was from that gurgling noise.
And then again, I did the stupidest thing, and I tied that right there. And all of a sudden, you just see the stomach go up. So I thought that maybe it was air trapped in there. And then when you let go, it went back down. But then if you tighten it again, it's like it goes back up. So I don't know. I feel absolutely horrible that she was out there for that long and she was living through that.
Good thing that she's alive. I hope she can walk. Yeah. I sure hope she can walk. You can.
Dude, I'm never going to forget that popping noise. I would imagine, Sam, that's something horrible. I do wish you would have just taken her to the hospital, though, Sam. I know.
I was scared to death for, and to sound selfish as can be, I was scared to death for myself. I really was. It does sound selfish. It absolutely does. And I never get to do the You know, and I mean, I'll never be able to do that now anyway, but I should take the right thing then. Yeah.
Yeah. I just like she's alive. Was there any blood in your car?
The only thing I did today when, well, the officers, Dan and the other guy, they saw me do it. They had searched my car, and they found out inside through a bunch of empty bottles and a bunch of empty grizzly cans that were in there. I threw those away. But you had to get a scrub brush and clean inside.
No, no. You don't mind if we search your car again and look through it and stuff like that? Okay.
Yeah, that's fine.
Is my car in your custody now, I guess? Temporarily, yeah. Okay. I mean, we're going to probably do it later today. We're not going to do it tonight, go through it. Okay. Do you have the keys, by the way? Yeah, they're right here. Okay. I'll just remind you to get those. Yeah. During transport and the whole time we've been talking, Sam? From? Oh, yeah. While we were out there when we came back.
I just want to cover a few things just to make sure. No one treated you bad.
No.
No one beat you.
No.
No one made you promises.
No.
Okay. You willingly talked to us the whole time. Yeah. Right. Okay. We went over the Miranda rights with you earlier. Well, you didn't, but. I didn't. Right, right. But they did. Right, right. have an attorney at any time and if you can't afford one, it won't be appointed. Right. So if anything you say, you could be using it in court.
You know, all those, you went through and signed those and you understood that.
Correct.
Okay. Okay.
Well, you know, I guess obviously things are better than I talked.
Uh, yes. Yes. She's alive. And, and Sam, she may not have made it through another night. I know. I can't believe she made it. I can't either. Yeah. I was so happy. Yeah. Um, what we have to do now is put everything together and then it's ultimately up to the state's attorney's office. Is that what they do? Yes.
Okay.
Yes. Um, it's his office. It's not directly him, but it says office to decide what, what we do from this point. Um, I told you earlier, you know, I had to put handcuffs on you before we went out there in the jar in custody and, you know, it's up to them to decide what happens with that. Okay.
Appreciate you talking to us and telling us the truth about it, and we can just all hope and pray that Ashley pulls out of this.
Did they have a fair punishment contacted? Yes. Okay.
Investigator Hundo, the big guy, went directly to their house to tell them. I bet they're thrilled with that. I bet they're thrilled. Oh, yes. I'm sure. I'm sure. Is there anything else you can think of? I mean, this is the time, if there's anything you're leaving out that you really need to tell me.
No. Oh, there's nothing.
Okay. I'm going to have you sit here just for a minute.
Okay. Hey, when you search my car, can you throw my grizzly cans out there and there? Throw them away? My grizzly cans out. Throw them away? Yeah, because my mom's probably going to take my car. Oh, okay. She doesn't know I chew. Okay. Or if you see any spitters in there. Okay. Could you give me your keys? Yeah.
Okay. Now, we're probably going to do this tomorrow, just so you know.
Where are you parked? Oh, I'm parked, uh, I'm confused. I think I'm over there. Yeah, I think so. What kind of car is it? Ford Mustang, white, 2004. Not a Cobra, is it? No. Okay. Can't drive a stick? Oh, yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah.
Well, I'm just going to put it down in the garage. Okay.
Cool. So, uh, what do I, I get some night here tonight, I guess? Yes, sir. Okay. And probably all weekend?
I can tell you definitely tonight, past that point, it's up to the state's attorney's office. Is that where they go for bail and bond? Right. If I was to tell you something, it would be making a promise, and I can't do that. I can't make any promises.
Am I going to be able to get my contact solution and take my contacts out and toothbrush them? I don't think so.
I can't take my contacts out either? Maybe they'll give you something for that down there, but I don't think they, I really don't know.
All right, am I able to get like a little private toilet because I can't pee when there's people around because of my urinary stress disorder? Yeah, I don't know.
I'll tell them that that's what you want, but I don't know if they'll be able to do that.
I'll be miserable if I can't pee. Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll be back in a minute, okay? Okay. Hey, do I stay in a holding cell kind of thing, or do I stay in the actual jail?
You'll be in a holding cell, which is in the jail. Okay.
Shelton was arrested and charged with attempted murder. During his interrogation and throughout the legal proceedings, his casual demeanor and lack of remorse shocked investigators and the public. He pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder in 2007 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. After serving approximately 17 years, Shelton was released on parole on April 22, 2024.
He is scheduled to remain on parole until April 22, 2027. Ashley Reeves had to learn to walk and talk all over again. Her recovery was long and difficult, but she has gone on to rebuild her life. She has since spoken out about her experience, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and addressing the warning signs of inappropriate relationships.
Today, Ashley is an advocate for victims, sharing her story to raise awareness and help others in similar situations. In March 2017, Tad Cummins, a 50-year-old high school teacher from Columbia, Tennessee, disappeared with 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas, one of his students. The situation quickly drew national attention as concerns grew for Elizabeth's safety.
Their relationship, which had already prompted warnings from school officials and her family, was at the center of the case. Cummins had recently been suspended from his teaching position after reports surfaced of inappropriate behavior involving Elizabeth. Despite the scrutiny, he managed to execute a plan to leave town with her on March 13, 2017, picking her up from a local restaurant.
Evidence would later reveal that Cummins had referred to Elizabeth as his wife during their time in hiding, leading authorities to believe he intended to marry her. Their disappearance sparked a massive manhunt and an Amber Alert with investigators tracking their movements across multiple states. After more than five weeks, the search led authorities to a remote cabin in Northern California.
There, law enforcement found Cummins and Elizabeth. He was taken into custody without incident and Elizabeth was safely returned to her family. Cummins pleaded guilty to federal charges of transporting a minor across state lines and obstruction of justice. In 2018, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Elizabeth, deeply impacted by the experience, has since worked to rebuild her life away from the public eye. Are these cases on the rise? Some research suggests that they are, with many pointing to factors like the increased prevalence of social media and digital communication. These tools, while valuable in education, can also blur professional boundaries when misused.
Others argue that such cases have always existed but are now being reported more frequently due to greater awareness and improved oversight. Before I close, I want to thank my two latest patrons, Diana and Shannon. Thank you, Diana and Shannon. Your support is very much appreciated. And thank you all for listening to this episode.
If you enjoy the show and want to help keep it going, consider supporting Crimatorium on Patreon or Ko-Fi. The links to those two are in the show notes. Sharing the show and leaving a review is also a big help. Until next time, take care.