Former HS counselor arrested for allegedly 'abusing her position' to gain 'inappropriate relationships' with students

A former high school counselor in North Carolina is facing serious charges after she allegedly sent sexual content to multiple teens, police said.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that 37-year-old Lesli Bryant turned herself in to authorities at the magistrate's office on July 2, one day after she was charged with two counts of indecent liberties with students and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.

'It is a felony under NC law for a school employee to engage in sexual activities with a student.'

North Carolina law states that indecent liberties with students is a felony charge:

If a defendant, who is a teacher, school administrator, student teacher, school safety officer, or coach, at any age, or who is other school personnel and is at least four years older than the victim, takes indecent liberties with a victim who is a student, at any time during or after the time the defendant and victim were present together in the same school but before the victim ceases to be a student, the defendant is guilty of a Class G felony, unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing for greater punishment.

A Class G felony is punishable by 10 to 31 months in prison.

Bryant posted a $50,000 secured bond.

WRAL-TV reported that a judge ordered her to have no contact with two alleged victims and to be restricted from entering Orange County Schools property.

The sheriff's office noted that Bryant resigned from her counselor job at Orange High School on June 12.

A school system spokesperson told the Raleigh News & Observer that Bryant resigned after the district suspended her with pay.

Bryant is not listed in the staff directory for Orange High School or on the website for Orange County Schools.

Police said, "After school administrators notified a school resource officer of allegations of misconduct by Bryant with multiple students, deputies opened an investigation."

The Raleigh News & Observer obtained the police report that said a teacher notified school administrators about "a possible student-teacher relationship" after a student informed them that Bryant was sending nude photos to another student.

The assistant principal of Orange High School alerted a school resource officer of the allegations on June 4, according to police.

WRAL obtained the arrest warrant stating that Bryant was using the Snapchat app to send nude photos and videos with sexual content.

Bryant, of Hillsborough, asked three teens to send her nude photos of themselves, court documents stated.

The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Bryant at least once allegedly convinced a minor student to send her a nude photo of himself.

A sheriff's deputy wrote in a supplemental report obtained by the Raleigh News & Observer, "During the process of examining the Snapchat search warrants, it was observed that Lesli had distributed illicit material to at least three different males outside of the victims discussed in this case."

The officer added, "It should be noted that of these males in question, they appeared to be younger adult males."

"The situation created by these events brought to light that Lesli was abusing her position within the school to create inappropriate relationships with both current and former students," according to the supplemental report.

Prosecutors said the alleged incidents began in November 2025 and were as recent as April 2026, and the involved teens were ages 17 and 18 at the time.

RELATED: Video allegedly shows female HS teacher wearing 'Jesus Loves You' shirt while having sex with student: Warrants

The North Carolina School Boards Association previously released a guide titled: "Boundary Invasions and Sexual Grooming: What Every School Employee Must Know About Avoiding Inappropriate Staff-Student Relationships."

"It is a felony under N.C. law for a school employee to engage in sexual activities with a student," the guide warns. "Consent is not a defense."

"Sexual misconduct/sexual harassment is a violation of the Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Conduct for North Carolina Educators," the guide reads.

The guide also points out that federal law forbids school systems from assisting any school employee who is convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor in finding another job.

The New York Post reported that Bryant is married with two children.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigator C. Tapp at 919-245-2964.

Bryant is scheduled to appear in court on July 20.

Neither the Orange County Sheriff's Office nor Orange County Schools immediately responded to Blaze News' requests for comment.

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