Bible Camp Teacher Accused of Sexual Relations With 13-Year-Old
A 28-year-old Louisiana woman is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy she met at a Bible summer camp.
Heather Daughdrill worked as a teacher's aide at the unnamed camp where she met the underage boy in June, and pursued an affair with the youth until October, alleges the sheriff’s office of Calcasieu Parish, La. The parish (comparable to county) received a complaint about Daughdrill on Nov. 10, and police arrested her on Nov. 28, after an investigation by Parish Detective Katherine LeBlanc.
Daughdrill is now facing a laundry-list of charges, including for allegedly picking the boy up from school in nearby Beauregard Parish without his parents' knowledge and engaging in inappropriate conduct with him in Beauregard and Calcasieu parishes. She is also accused of trading explicit text messages with the teen, according to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office.
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"It's unfortunate that this happened," Joe Toler, the chief deputy for the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office, told The Christian Post. "The adult will be held responsible for leading this young man astray. She is a registered sex offender for the rest of her life if found guilty of this. Her career is probably totally destroyed if she's convicted."
Toler said that Louisiana law has harsh penalties for sexual offenses involving minors. A registered Louisiana sex offender, he said, has their status permanently listed in red on their driver's license.
He said that Daughdrill faces one count of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and three counts of second degree kidnapping in Beauregard. Punishments for the former include up to ten years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and up to 40 years in prison for the latter. Second degree kidnapping involves consent of the victim, he added.
"We don't have an abnormal amount of these kinds of cases but we have our share," Toler said. "There are murders, rapes, thefts and the rest of the whole gamut here too just like everywhere else."
Kim Myers, a spokesperson for the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff, said her office doesn't comment on pending cases beyond press releases. Daughdrill faces an additional four counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and three extra counts of second degree kidnapping in Calcasieu. She's also accused of eight counts of sexual battery, one count of contributing to juvenile delinquency and one count of indecent behavior with a juvenile.
Toler said he couldn't name the summer camp or the alleged victim's school as it could help identify him. He said Daughdrill was currently in his office's custody with her bond set at $200,000. Her Calcasieu bond, meanwhile, is listed at $47,000. Daughdrill will appear in two separate courts, one for each parish accusing her.
Toler said that Daughdrill lacked a prior criminal record, a fact that could help her find leniency if convicted in court. Given the nature of the crime, he said it was vital that justice was properly served given its circumstances.
"There's no time wasted in case like this," he said. "Our main concern is the safety of the 13-year old. Once our investigators determined he'd be OK, we went forward with the arrest."
