Award-winning teacher, who was caught in bed with student by husband, sentenced to jail for sexual assault

A former award-winning teacher has been sentenced to jail over a sexual assault of a student more than a decade ago.

Leah Ruthann Queen, 44, pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with a student. Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren sentenced Queen to six years of state-supervised probation and 58 days in the Benton County Jail. She was also ordered not to have any contact with the victim.

Queen is required to register as a sex offender and must complete a sex offender treatment program.

Queen – who was arrested last September for sexual assault – initially pleaded not guilty, but changed her plea to guilty.

Queen was a teacher at the Gentry Intermediate School in Arkansas.

Queen reportedly had an inappropriate relationship with a student in the summer of 2010.

KNWA-TV reported, "An affidavit says that the victim claims that when they were 17-years-old Queen befriended them after a basketball game and the two began socializing outside of school hours."

The teacher reportedly kissed the student during a camping trip.

The sexual assault occurred in Queen's office and office bathroom at the school, according to the affidavit. At the time, Queen was 31-years-old.

"Queen's ex-husband also reported seeing the victim sharing a bed with his ex-wife on several occasions," according to the Daily Mail.

The victim’s parents and a former teacher corroborated the victim's accusations of the teacher sex scandal.

Before her arrest, Queen had been a teacher in the Gentry School District for more than 20 years.

Queen was named "Teacher of the Month" at her school in 2019 and "Teacher of the Year" in 2022.

When Queen won her award, she told KNWA-TV, "When i was a girl in the second grade, I had a teacher who did not make feel like I was very much. I just wanted to love my babies. I have a passion and drive for this and they love me back."

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