A criminal referral involving a Peoria high school teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a former student is still sitting with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, even after detectives resubmitted their recommended charges. At the same time, the Peoria Unified School District governing board has moved to terminate the teacher, while police say their case file includes thousands of explicit messages and several small payments. The case is unfolding on two tracks: a Title IX process inside the district and an ongoing criminal investigation.
According to 12News, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is still reviewing the criminal charge submitted by detectives. Prosecutors are examining a resubmitted case file that police sent back after the office previously asked for additional investigative work.
Charges Resubmitted to Prosecutors
Earlier this month, Peoria police resubmitted their investigation and recommended a felony count of pandering against the teacher, while also recommending a separate allegation involving another instructor, according to AZFamily. Prosecutors had earlier returned both cases to law enforcement for more work before the latest filing landed back on their desks.
What Investigators Say
Police and district records indicate the teacher exchanged more than 4,000 sexually explicit messages with the student over roughly a six-week stretch in 2025 and sent about $630 through electronic transfers, according to reporting from the Arizona Republic. The communications reportedly included discussions of sexual activity, alcohol and drug use, and investigators say early contact amounted to grooming while the student was still enrolled at Centennial High.
District Action and the Hearing Option
The Peoria Unified Governing Board adopted a statement of charges on March 26 and voted to terminate the teacher. That action opens a window in which the teacher can request a hearing before any dismissal becomes final, per AZFamily. District officials said the move followed a Title IX investigation and a decision-maker’s formal finding of grooming.
Defense Pushes for Due Process
The teacher’s attorney has publicly rejected the accusations as criminal conduct and stressed that his client is entitled to the presumption of innocence. In a statement released by the defense firm, attorney Matthew Long said his client “committed no crimes” and argued that a full review of the evidence would clear her, according to Long & Simmons Law.
Legal Context
If prosecutors sign off on the recommended pandering charge, local reporting notes it would be handled as a class 5 felony under Arizona law, carrying potential prison time and fines. Coverage also points out that prosecutors frequently look for extra corroboration in complex sex-abuse or alleged prostitution cases before filing, and the earlier decision to send the file back to detectives fits that cautious pattern.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has not filed any charges and did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to 12News. Peoria police say their investigation is still active, and it is now up to prosecutors to decide whether to move forward with formal charges.
