Baby in Car as Teacher, Teen Have Sex
Posted: February 23, 2005 at 10:51 a.m.
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- A 30-year-old teaching intern has been arrested after police found her with a 16-year-old male student in her car as the woman's toddler was strapped into a car seat in the back.
Margaret De Barraicua and the student are believed to have been having "an ongoing consensual sexual relationship for several months," Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Justin Risley said.
The investigation began Saturday when police received a report of a car parked behind an elementary school, Risley said. Officers found the windows of the car steamed up and could see two people moving inside, he said.
When the car door opened, officers found De Barraicua, the teenager and the teacher's 2-year-old child, Risley said.
The teenager was in a language and arts class that De Barraicua has taught since September, when she started her paid internship at McClatchy High School.
De Barraicua, who is married, was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday while the investigation is ongoing, said Maria Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento City Unified School District. The toddler was released to De Barraicua's husband.
Before the internship, De Barraicua worked in the district for about two years as a substitute teacher. Interns are required to undergo the same background checks as credentialed teachers.
Sacramento police don't believe De Barraicua has victimized other students, Risley said.
"We think this is an isolated incident," he said.
De Barraicua did not return a telephone call to her home Wednesday.