Teacher convicted of sex with student sues him for damaging her reputation

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. — A California teacher who was jailed for having sex with a student is reportedly suing the pupil for damaging her reputation.

Former Arroyo Grande High School teacher Tara Stumph, 36, is claiming that the 16-year-old boy she had a sexual relationship with for a year defamed her "to various classmates, family and other members of the community," according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

Stumph, who is married to a firefighter and a mother of three, went to jail for 180 days, a sentence she started serving May 1. She initially faced five charges following an eight-month investigation, but four of the charges were dropped in a plea deal.

Police reportedly were tipped off to the relationship in December 2015, and Stumph was put on administrative leave.

The boy's parents sued her for pain, suffering and emotional distress, the Tribune reported. The lawsuit, also brought against the school district and her former principal, alleges she "cultivated" the pupil's trust over several months and encouraged him to confide in her.

Stumph answered those claims with a lawsuit of her own, claiming the student's statements damaged her reputation and career. She wants indemnity for any judgments made, according to the Tribune. Stumph's teaching license was revoked after her conviction, but she will not be required to register as a sex offender upon her release from San Luis Obispo County Jail, the newspaper reported.

The family's lawsuit against the former cooking teacher stated that she molested him "during and after class" and sent nude selfies and sexually explicit videos of herself to him.

It also said, “The sexual abuse and exploitation of (the victim), and the circumstances under which it occurred, caused (him) to develop various psychological coping mechanisms, which reasonably made him incapable of ascertaining that Stumph’s conduct was harmful to him.”

Cox Media Group