A former substitute school teacher who allegedly had a sexual encounter with a student in a Minnesota classroom earlier this year is the subject of a nationwide search, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday.
Caitlin Thao admitted to a social worker at a mental health facility that she had a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy, according to court documents.
The 24-year-old Thao went on the run after she was charged with criminal sexual conduct last week, the report said.
She resigned from her job as a substitute teacher at a St. Paul charter school in February.
Citing a criminal complaint against Thao, the Star Tribune reported the victim told police on March 13 that the two had a sexual encounter about six weeks previously in an empty middle school classroom she was using at the St. Paul City School.
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The boy said that after the encounter, Thao invited him to come to her home.
He told officers he declined the offer. No other communication between the teen and the former teacher was reported.
According to those same court documents, Thao found herself as a patient at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where she told a social worker about the incident.
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Last week, she was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in the Ramsey County District Court, the Star Tribune reported.
Facing up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, Thao fled and has not been seen since.
Female substitute teacher goes on the run after she was accused of having sex with boy, 17, in an empty classroom https://t.co/TzAqa7Tye7 pic.twitter.com/yWzA7UYwrE
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 11, 2024
She is now the subject of a nationwide warrant, and attempts to find her were unsuccessful as of Monday.
Eric Fergen, interim executive director of St. Paul City School, sent a letter to faculty, staff and student families on Friday to inform them of the allegations against the former teacher, the Star Tribune reported.
Fergen wrote that the encounter between the substitute teacher and the student occurred outside of school hours.
Asked to comment on the case Friday, he told the Star Tribune that Thao “hasn’t worked with us for quite a few months.”
