Teacher Janet Fackovec Sentenced - Update

Former North Charleston teacher Janet Fackovec, 25, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and was sentenced to 90 days in the county jail.

Authorities say the teen contends he had sex with the teaching assistant. Prosecutor Debbie Herring-Lash says Fackovec did not face criminal sexual conduct charges because the teen was old enough to consent to sex in South Carolina.

She was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended to 90 days, and will serve 18 months of probation.

While pleading guilt, Fackovec reportedly sobbed.

* * * * *
[11/01/07 entry]

(Charleston, South Carolina) A 25-year-old special ed teaching assistant at Stall High School, Janet R. Fackovec, has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for helping a 16-year-old boy run away from a group home, giving him alcohol and having sex with him.

According to Sheriff's Capt. John Clark, Fackovec was arrested on October 18th and charged with helping a runaway.

Deputies originally interviewed Fackovec in January during their investigation into a teen thought to be missing from a group home, Clark said. At the time, Fackovec told investigators she was mentoring the teen.

A week later, the teen's court-appointed guardian told authorities she was afraid there was an "unhealthy" relationship between the student and Fackovec, but Fackovec and the teen denied having a sexual relationship, Clark said.

Authorities subsequently discovered that Fackovec had taken the teen to a hotel on the Isle of Palms, where they rented a room and had sex, according to the sheriff's report. The teen also told authorities he went several times to Fackovec's house, where she gave him alcohol and they had sex, according to a North Charleston police report.

Fackovec was booked into custody at the Charleston County Jail and later released on $80,000 bail.

Tip: Don Morgenstern


[Update 11/04/07]

According to this report, Fackovec may have a history of unhealthy relationships.

[P]olice reports are surfacing that say officers responded to Stall as far back as January of this year with concerns about the nature of a relationship between Fackovec and a student at the school.

It's not known if the alleged victim is the same student, but the physical descriptions are exactly alike. Also, both the report from January 10 and the report from October 11 of this year say the victim is a 16-year-old boy.

The first report says the student is a runaway and that an unhealthy relationship had developed between the student and Fackovec. It goes on to say that "the teacher has given the student presents in the form of clothes and dinners and that the teacher had on many occasions taken the student from his group home for hours at a time."

The report also suggests Fackovec was helping the alleged victim hide and keep his status as a runaway.

Fackovec remains on leave from her teaching position with pay.