Teacher's aide accused of having sex with special needs student

FRESNO, Calif. -- A Fresno Unified School District teacher's aide now faces felony charges. Police discovered 35-year-old Theresa Marie Ramirez was having sex with an underage student with special needs. Police said it all started back in the fall of 2015.

The student was actually telling another teacher's aide about the sexual relationship when that person alerted the police to the inappropriate conduct. Authorities believe their relationship was on-and-off for about a year, during which the teacher's aid had sex with the student and provided him with alcohol.

Ramirez now faces four felony counts including statutory rape plus a misdemeanor for supplying the minor with alcohol after authorities discovered the 35-year-old Hoover High School teacher's aide was having sex with a student.

The two worked closely together but things went too far after she brought him back to her apartment on several occasions to have sex with him. The news comes on the heels of Tenaya Middle School Teacher Justine nelson getting arrested for having sex with an 8th-grade boy.

Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson said that male students having a relationship with a female teacher is not a badge of honor.

"I have watched it over and over again, damn near destroy the life of that young man," he exclaimed. "They're not ready. They don't understand what's occurred and it has long-term repercussions."

Authorities believe the relationship happened just after the start of the 2015 to 2016 school year. Court documents show the victim described details of her apartment to them and a tattoo Ramirez had on her body.

"It's extremely serious," Lt. Joe Gomez with the Fresno Police Department said. "It's really a bad situation when this happens."

"People need to get very clear if they have in their minds eye if they're coming to work in education for any other reason that to pursue kid's dreams of getting a better shot in life they are in the wrong place and they're going to get found out and they're going to get persecuted," Hanson said.

Officials just learned of the crimes at the start of this school year.

"An aide at the school the victim shared it with that aide who then notified his staff who then called the police," Gomez said.