Marisa Noel, a 31-year-old former fifth grade teacher in Louisiana, faces 25 criminal charges after a complaint about what investigators called an inappropriate relationship with one of her former students.
Authorities said the charges against Noel include 10 counts of indecent behavior with juveniles, one count of first-degree rape, two counts related to child sexual abuse material, one count of unlawful communications and three counts of computer-aided solicitation of a minor. She was booked into the St. Martin Parish Correctional Center on Monday, and no bond has been set on the new charges.
Sheriff Becket Breaux launched the investigation on January 28 after receiving the complaint while Noel was teaching at Teche Elementary School. Investigators later said they had enough evidence to arrest her on four counts of indecent behavior with juveniles and four counts of computer-aided solicitation of a minor. Additional charges were added Monday after another unnamed victim was identified, according to authorities.
The case has widened since the original complaint, but officials have not said how old the victims were. The investigation, which involved the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, remains ongoing, and authorities have not ruled out more charges.
For Louisiana school communities, the arrest lands in the same grim category as other recent teacher sex cases, including the cases involving a Cocoa Beach teacher and Haley Beck in Arizona. This one is still expanding, and the next filing could matter as much as the arrests already made.
