Teacher/Students Have Sex, Plot Murder

(Coffeeville, Alabama) A 30-year-old mother of two and English teacher at Coffeeville High School, Sharon Linton Rutherford, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with sex crimes against students and plotting to murder her husband. Rutherford specifically faces counts of solicitation of murder, rape, sexual abuse and enticing a child for immoral purposes.

A student came forward and told Coffeeville High School Principal Janice Richardson that he had sex with Rutherford. Further investigation exposed the alleged murder plot. Her husband is also a teacher at the school.

According to the Clarke County Sheriff's office, two victims are under 16 years of age and the investigation seeks to determine if there were others. Some of the sexual activity is alleged to have occurred on school grounds. The Clarke County Sheriff's office also issued a brief statement.

"During the course of the investigation, some facts and other evidence that was uncovered shows that the teacher . . . was involved sexually with at least two or more students at the school," the statement read. "There were also facts uncovered that led us to believe that Mrs. Rutherford tried to convince one student to commit the crime of murder, which she tried to convince the student to kill her husband."

Rutherford is in custody at the Clarke County Jail with bail set at $55,000.


[Update 05/12/06]

From al.com:

A Clarke County teacher accused of having sexual relations with multiple students and trying to convince one to kill her husband no longer faces a rape charge, though three other charges were turned over Thursday to a grand jury.

Circuit Court Judge Bill Kimbrough dropped the first-degree rape charge against Sharon Linton Rutherford, 30, an English teacher at Coffeeville High School, at a Thursday morning hearing. She still faces a charge of solicitation of murder and two charges of "enticing a child to enter a vehicle, house, etc., for immoral purposes."

Indictments are expected.


[Update 08/13/06]

Sharon Rutherford indicted.


[Update 12/11/07]

Rutherford gets prison for sex crimes. Murder-for-hire trial is scheduled for March 2008.