Hailey Clifton-Carmack, 27, is now under house arrest until her sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Oct. 11.
A Missouri school teacher accused of having sex with a student at school while his classmates kept lookout agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors,
Hailey Clifton-Carmack, 27, pled guilty to a single count of sexual contact with a student after prosecutors agreed to drop the charges of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree statutory rape and fourth-degree child molestation they had filed against her in court.
Those charges all stem from her alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old student whose own father knew that the boy was having sexual relations with the then-married mother, according to police.
The Garden Ridge Police Department arrested Clifton-Carmack on an outstanding warrant in Texas earlier this year and booked her into the Comal County Jail, where she remained until her extradition back to Missouri.
She is now under house arrest until her sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Oct. 11.
Sexual Contact With a Student Allegations
One student told police that Clifton-Carmack told the boy "he was the reason her divorce was pushed through," according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
That student also told police that they learned about the alleged relationship when the teenager "showed them photographs of their back with scratches," and then said the "scratches were from Hailey after [he] had sex with her in the [student's] driveway," according to the affidavit.
A second witness then informed police that the boy's father allegedly knew his teenage son was having sex with his teacher, the affidavit alleges.
That witness also said that the boy's father said that his son and Clifton-Carmack "have been in a sexual relationship and have used students as lookouts while they had sex during school," according to the affidavit.
The detective assigned to the case met with Clifton-Carmack the day after interviewing that first witness, at which time he says she denied the allegations and willingly handed her phone over to authorities, says the affidavit.
When served with a search warrant for the phone a few days later, Clifton-Camack refused to share her passcode on the advice of her lawyer, according to the affidavit.
Teacher On the Run
The investigator said that he then learned that Clifton-Carmack planned to leave Missouri and travel to Texas, where she was arrested in early January.
Before leaving for Texas over the holidays, Clifton-Carmack stopped by the boy's house to say goodbye, his father told police, according to the affidavit.
The school system said that Clifton-Carmack had vacated her job just over a month ago and there were no plans for her to return to her post.
“We have been made aware of criminal charges being filed against an employee for alleged misconduct,” Laquey R-5 Superintendent Kent Stoumbaugh said in a statement. “We understand that charges are not the same as a conviction and the employee is to be considered innocent until proven guilty. We must stress, however, that the alleged misconduct is inexcusable and does not meet the professional standards for district employees. The district took immediate action once we were aware of this situation. An investigation is ongoing. The employee has not been in the district since December 8, 2023, and we do not anticipate her return. We strive to ensure that every individual is treated with respect, kindness and fairness, so that all feel safe, secure and welcomed in our schools.”
Clifton-Carmack's husband, Chance Carmack, filed for divorce last year. A judge finalized that separation in September, but the details were largely kept under seal.
A lawyer for Clifton-Carmack did not respond to a request for comment. She is facing up to four years behind bars under Missouri's Sex Offender Assessment Program.
