Mormon Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With His Sixth Grade Student
Mormon teacher Kenne Micheal Worthen is accused of having sex with a sixth grade student. The 27-year-old married father allegedly engaged in a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old student until the girl’s classmates told other teachers at the Arizona school.
According to Phoenix Police, Kenne Worthen started “flirting” with the Longview Elementary School student last fall and the “relationship” turned sexual in January. Worthen allegedly messaged the sixth grade girl via an iPod app and also kept in contact outside of the school day by using Google Hangouts. The Longview Elementary School sixth grader reportedly labeled her teacher’s online profile with the fake name, “Jesse Smith.”
Phoenix Police reports indicate that some of the conversations between the Arizona Mormon teacher and the sixth grade students were “sexual in nature.” One message reportedly stated that Kenne Michael Worthen was “worried” that the 12-year-old girl would feel “guilty” about their “relationship” and tell either his wife, or the police.
The Mormon teacher was arrested Friday after some of his students told other teachers about the teacher allegedly having a sexual relationship with the 12-year-old girl. The Longview Elementary School teachers then called the Phoenix police who embarked upon an investigation.
Both the unidentified sixth grade student and Kenne Worthen “admitted to the relationship” according to Arizona police reports. The Mormon teacher now faces charges on both child molestation and the sexual exploitation of a child.
Phoenix police also believe Worthen and his sixth grade student has sex on school grounds on April 10. Earlier this year the Mormon teacher allegedly asked the girl’s mother if the student could stay at school after class.
“He contacted my daughter’s mother and said, ‘Can she stay after school and help with something?’ and mom said, ‘Of course, why not,'” the alleged child molestation victim’s father stated during media interview. “There should’ve been no reason why my child was in a classroom alone with a teacher.”
The sixth grade student’s father commended his daughter’s classmate for informing other teachers about the alleged child molestation.
“I honestly couldn’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for my daughter in this case, because who knows how much longer this would have gone on had they not said anything,” the distraught father also said.
Kenne Worthen is also an International Pathway Adjunct Professor at Brigham Young University-Idaho, according to his LinkedIn page. Worthen reportedly teaches life skills and English to international students at the university. The Mormon teacher has taught sixth grade for two years and has held after-school roles in Idaho in the past and was also a Boy Scout volunteer, his social media accounts say.
The Mormon teacher was denied bail during his first appearance on child molestation charges.
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