A former Chesapeake special education teacher is facing a dozen felony charges, including several related to child sexual abuse material, after investigators say she carried on a months-long sexual relationship with a 14-year-old. Heather Lindsay Tharpe-Bush taught in Chesapeake Public Schools for more than four years before leaving the district in 2024, and now stands accused of coordinating secret meetings with the teen to avoid getting caught.
According to WAVY, Tharpe-Bush faces four counts of carnal knowledge, four counts of indecent act with a child custodian, four counts of sexual assault of a child age 13 to 14, and several additional child sexual abuse material charges. The station reports she is accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with the 14-year-old, with investigators alleging the two had sex on four separate occasions between July and October.
Court documents cited by the outlet state that the teen told police the sexual contact happened four times, with one encounter reportedly taking place in July at Tharpe-Bush's Chesapeake home. The documents reportedly say messages recovered from Tharpe-Bush's iCloud account confirmed the relationship, and that those same messages showed her coordinating specific meeting times with the teen in an apparent effort to avoid detection.
Incidents Allegedly Happened Away From School Grounds
Police have confirmed that the alleged incidents occurred at locations other than school property, per the station's report. That detail separates the case from on-campus misconduct allegations, though it does not change the scope of the charges Tharpe-Bush now faces.
A spokesperson for the school district told the outlet that Tharpe-Bush was employed by Chesapeake Public Schools as a special education teacher from February 2020 through June 2024. No information has been made available about why her employment ended, and the same report does not address whether the alleged relationship began before or after she left the district.
What Virginia Law Says About the Charges
Under Virginia's carnal knowledge statute, if the accused is a minor and the consenting child is three or more years younger, the accused faces a Class 6 felony under state code. The full text available does not spell out how that provision applies specifically to Tharpe-Bush's case, and additional statutory language covering the indecent liberties charge was not available in full.
No information has been released about a plea, upcoming court dates, or the case's current status in the legal system. WAVY's report does not include a response from Tharpe-Bush or a defense attorney, and it remains unclear what her current employment status is.
