Teacher accused of sending sexual TikTok messages to student loses Missouri license
A Missouri teacher accused of sending sexual TikTok messages to a student is no longer licensed to teach within the state.
The former Bolivar High School teacher, Tania Dickey-Driskell, had her teaching license revoked by the State Board of Education during its monthly board meeting Tuesday, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education confirmed to McClatchy News.
In an April plea agreement, the 46-year-old teacher pleaded guilty to first-degree stalking of a student, the Springfield News Leader reported. Charges of attempted statutory rape and attempted endangering the welfare of a child were dropped.
These charges came after the former teacher was accused of sending “sexually suggestive messages on TikTok” to a male student on the video-sharing app, KTVI reported. The messages were discovered by the boy’s mother, and Missouri State Highway Patrol began an investigation.
Court documents show the 16-year-student reported to the state troopers that he did not want to receive those sexual messages, according to the News Leader. The teacher told investigators she was sexually attracted to the student and never tried to have sex with him.
Dickey-Driskell was arrested Feb. 27, 2020 after being “accused of inappropriate communication with a student,” the Bolivar Herald-Free Press reported.
She tried blaming the teen for her messages, court documents show, and had asked him to delete the messages before her arrest, according to KTVI.
“In one message, Dickey-Driskill said, ‘So I literally used a bag of tricks to pull you in. That is manipulation and using my power to control you. I’m sorry about that. I did it on purpose,’” court records say, according to the station.
She was fired from Bolivar High School immediately after she was arrested, the News Leader reported.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Teacher accused of sending sexual TikTok messages to student loses Missouri license."