New York State Troopers from the Bath barracks, with the
assistance of the Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District administrative
staff, announce the arrest of a Jasper woman stemming from an investigation
into a report that a teacher’s aide had engaged in inappropriate contact with a
student at the school. Bethany N. Leach,
age 23, of Jasper, New York, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with
Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the Second Degree (a class “E”
felony) and Endangering the Welfare of a Child (a class “A” misdemeanor). Troopers allege that during the time spanning
the months of January through June of 2017, Leach exchanged nude and sexually
explicit pictures and videos with a child she had met while serving as a teacher’s
aide at the Jasper-Troupsburg Junior / Senior High School. It was alleged that Leach used the
“Snapchat” and “Facebook” mobile applications to communicate with the student,
and that she did so while at her residence in the Town of Jasper. The investigation determined that the
inappropriate contact was limited to the digital communications; that it did
not occur at the school; and that no actual physical interaction occurred
between Leach and the student. Leach was
arraigned in the Town of Bath Court before town justice Watches and released on
her own recognizance, with her appearance in the Town of Jasper Court scheduled
for a later date.
