Pamela Joan Rogers | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1977-07-01)July 1, 1977 (age 47) |
| Alma mater | Tennessee Technological University Cumberland University |
| Occupation | Formerteacher |
| Spouse | Christopher Turner (2003–2005; divorced) |
| Criminal charge | Statutory rape,Sexual battery, Solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor, Introduction of contraband into a penal facility |
| Penalty | Imprisoned: 2005, 2006–2012, 2015–2016[1] |
Pamela Joan Rogers (born July 1, 1977), better known under her former married namePamela Rogers Turner, is an American sex offender and a formerelementary school physical educationteacher andcoach who taught inMcMinnville, Tennessee. She was convicted of four counts of sexual battery in 2005 and two counts of solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor in 2006 stemming from a three-month relationship with a 13-year-old boy who was her student at Centertown Elementary School. Her case made headlines and was covered by major news networks for being a notorious teacher who had an unlawful sexual relationship with one of her students.[2][3] After getting released in 2012, she was taken into custody in 2015 for allegedly conspiring to smuggle contraband cell phones into a state prison and sentenced to eight years in prison; her case brought headlines and national attention to the practice of cellphone smuggling in prison.[4]
Born on July 1, 1977, Rogers attendedClarkrange High School where she was a part of the Clarkrange basketball team; Lady Buffalos, which gained some local success during her time on the team with her dad; Lamar Rogers, being the head coach of the team.[5] When she graduated in 1995, for her senior yearprom she was picked asprom queen. She subsequently attendedTennessee Technological University andCumberland University, playing basketball for both.[6] Also around that time, she was also featured as "Miss Nitro"WCW Monday Nitro event[7] and around 2002, did some bikini modelling for various gigs[8] including for motorcycle brands such asHarley-Davidson.
She married high school basketball coach Christopher Turner in 2003. They separated in 2004 due to marital difficulties and he filed for divorce in January 2005.[9]
On February 4, 2005, Rogers was charged with 15 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and 13 counts ofstatutory rape[10] stemming from a three-month relationship with a teenage boy who was her student in the basketball class where they engaged invaginal intercourse,[11]oral sex; bothfellatio[12] andcunnilingus,[13] as well asdigital penetration[14] at his home, at her apartment, and even at the school’s gym on more than 12 different occasions.[15]
The relationship allegedly began sometime in early November 2004 when the student; who was attending Rogers'PE/Basketball class began flirting with Rogers and making sexual suggestions. Rogers, in the midst of an estranged marriage which during the relationship with the student for a separate reason would end in divorce, allegedly enjoyed the attention and entertained the student’s advances.
When the divorce was finalized on January 14, Rogers moved out of the house she was staying in with her now ex-husband and rented an apartment. However, during the rental process, the water heater in her apartment broke down. The student’s mother, seeing Rogers as a family friend & completely oblivious to the illegal nature of her son’s relationship with Rogers, opened up their house for Rogers to stay in. Hesitant at first but enjoying the attention she gets from the student, Rogers obliged.
The point when the relationship with the student became sexual was when during a phone text message exchange with the student with the student’s friend present. At one point Rogers texted to the student “I think you’re cute”. Mixed with excitement, hesitation, and disbelief, the student allegedly looked to his friend for advice on what to write back, before texting back “I think you’re hot”.[16] From that point onward, the relationship became sexual with Rogers regularly calling the student up to 5-6 times a night. The student who at the time had a girlfriend of the same age upon first meeting Rogers decided to terminate the relationship with his girlfriend to be with Rogers. Throughout the period Rogers and the student were having sex, Rogers and the student would spend night and day together, hanging out together around town, walking him to his family’s car after basketball games, sitting with him during sporting events, and cheering exclusively for him when he played. The relationship attracted a lot of unwarranted attention especially within such a small town and it was only a matter of time before the police were tipped off about their illegal relationship.
On August 12, 2005, Rogers pleadedno contest to four charges ofsexual battery by an authority figure as part of a deal with the prosecution.[17] She was given an eight-yearsuspended sentence, during which she was to serve 270 days in theWarren County jail in Tennessee followed by seven years and three months ofprobation.[citation needed] She was also ordered to surrender her teaching certificate and register as a sex offender for life because sexual battery by an authority figure is a "violent sexual offense" under the law of the state of Tennessee.[18] The sentence prohibited her from profiting from the case through books and movies as well as barring her from granting interviews for eight years.[citation needed]
Rogers was arrested again on April 24, 2006, on the grounds that she had senttext messages, nude photos, and sex videos of herself to the same boy while using her father's cellphone. She was also charged for communicating with the boy viablogs and a website.[citation needed] The judge ordered Rogers to remain in jail until her next court hearing. On July 14, 2006, she was sentenced to seven years in prison for violating her probation by sending explicit videos to her former victim and maintaining contact with him via online blogs. Rogers asked for mercy and apologized to her family and the teen's family, saying tearfully to the judge, "I have humiliated myself. What I did was wrong, I am willing to do anything to rehabilitate myself." She asked for local incarceration with therapy. Circuit Judge Bart Stanley denied her request saying, "You have done everything except show this court that you wanted to rehabilitate yourself." He revoked Rogers's probation and ordered her to serve the rest of a seven-year prison sentence at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center.[19]
Rogers received two additional years of prison time in January 2007, after she pleaded guilty to sending nude photos of herself to the boy.[20] She was released in 2012.[21]
On May 28, 2015, Rogers was indicted by a grand jury for introduction of contraband into a state penal facility and arrested, having allegedly conspired with two others to smuggle cell phones into the state prison where she had previously been incarcerated.[21] She was sentenced to eight years in prison and was released between 2024-2027.[22][23][24]
In 2016, Rogers was featured in the Headline News segmentTwisted: Teachers Who Prey.[25]
| Human sexuality | |
|---|---|
| Child sexuality | |
| Sexual abuse | |
| Age of consent (reform) | |
