BOILING SPRINGS (WHNS, WACH) -- A Boiling Springs High School teacher is out on bond after she was arrested Wednesday for having a sexual relationship with a student, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.
Abby McElhenny is charged with sexual battery of a student 16 or 17 years of age. McElhenny turned herself in to law enforcement Wednesday afternoon. She was released on $10,000 bond Wednesday night.
Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said McElhenny was spotted by friends of the teen's family holding hands at a local restaurant and Spartanburg's annual Spring Fling festival.
Wright said the boy's mother checked her son's cell phone after he was caught in a lie about spending the night with a friend. He said the mother noticed that hundreds of texts were exchange between her son's phone and another number. He said the mother then had a friend call the number and pretend to sell McElhenny a newspaper subscription. He said that is how the mother figured out who her son was texting.
Wright said the boy's mother then turned the evidence she gathered over to the Sheriff's Office.
Authorities have subpoenaed more than 750 text messages exchanged between the teacher and student. Deputies didn't know if McElhenny has an attorney. A phone listing for her could not be found.
McElhenny, a Spanish teacher and boys and girls swim coach, resigned from her job Tuesday, according to Spartanburg County School District 2. Her next court date is September 1.
The relationship happened sometime between December 25 and May 16, Wright said.
(This story courtesy WHNS and FoxCarolina.com)
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