Catholic Science Teacher Charged With Sexually Abusing 17-Year-Old Student

A science teacher at a Catholic high school in Baltimore, Md. has been charged with sexually abusing a student.

On Friday, 33-year-old Lynette Trotta of Parkville was arrested and charged with a fourth-degree sex offense. She was initially being held on $250,000 bond, but a judge reduced her bail to $100,000, reports The Baltimore Sun.

Trotta, who has been an educator at the Archbishop Curley High School since 2007, began showing an interest in a 17-year-old male student in November 2013. The student told police that he and the teacher began emailing and texting, and at some point the exchanges became sexual.

According to court documents, Trotta and the student would engage in sexual activity in her classroom during school hours, reports ABC 27. At one point, the student performed a sex act on the teacher while she was driving him home from an after-school event.

School officials learned about the allegations from a librarian who reported it on April 1, according to a statement released by the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Joseph Benicewicz, the president of Archbishop Curley, addressed a letter to parents, saying, "I as president and the entire administration do our absolute best to make sure that our teachers and staff are of high moral quality and that they embody the values on which this school is built."

Authorities believe the librarian knew about the alleged abuse for weeks but failed to report it right away. As a result, she, too, was suspended for not coming forward immediately, the archdiocese said.

Sean Caine, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said, "We will be further investigating now that the police have given us the go ahead to do our own investigation."