A California special education teacher will stay on paid leave after she was arrested on suspicion of having an ongoing sexual relationship with a 17-year-old former student.
Kelly McKenzy Watson, 34, was collared on Thursday after an investigation revealed her alleged "inappropriate dating relationship with the juvenile," cops told the North County Times.
She met the boy while teaching "emotionally disturbed" teens at the New Haven Youth and Family Services Center in Vista, sometime between September 2010 and August 2011. The two allegedly began having sex after McKenzy transferred to a high school in Oceanside, where the boy was not a student.
"They met when he was a student of hers, and they later forged a relationship which was inappropriate and illegal," San Diego Police Lt. Anastasia Smith told the paper.
Sex crimes detectives started looking into the case after a tip they received on July 30 about Watson's conduct, NBC 7 reported.
The New York Daily News reports that Watson posted $45,000 bail on Friday, and is still on paid administrative leave at the high school, pending her case.
She's scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 20.
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