An Arkansas teacher who was fired after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to a charge of first-degree sexual assault.
Chrystal Estelle Vega, 40, formerly an educator in the Dardanelle School District, entered the plea on Feb. 26, online court records show.
According to a sentencing order filed Tuesday, Vega was given six years of probation and ordered to register as a sex offender. She was barred from contacting the victim, who attended school in her district, police said. Vega was also prohibited from attending any Dardanelle High School activities before June 15, 2020.
Charging documents filed in Pope County Circuit Court show that a 16-year-old told the Russellville Police Department on Sept. 11 that he and Vega had sex and that she performed a sexual act on him at a city park on Sept. 6.
The teen texted Vega while with police, and she texted back “about never getting to see her kids again,” according to the documents. Surveillance video showed the teacher’s black Camaro at the park during the time the 16-year-old reported, authorities said.
Police spoke with Vega, who said she had a texting relationship with the student that had “crossed the line” and that she had met him at the park, the court documents show. She denied having sexual contact with the teen.
The 40-year-old was taken to the Pope County jail, where she was later released. Vega’s contract with the district was terminated on Oct. 17, according to Dardanelle Superintendent John Thompson.
Vega was an eighth-grade business and vocational teacher, though she previously taught eighth-grade English, Thompson said.