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A former Missouri substitute teacher, Carissa Jane Smith, was handed a ten-year prison sentence on Wednesday. The charges stemmed from allegations that she provided students with money, alcohol, and drugs in exchange for sexual favors.
Smith, 31, hailing from Dixon, faced arrest last November on 19 charges, which included statutory rape and inappropriate contact with a student, as confirmed by the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office at that time.
In September, she admitted guilt to reduced charges, confessing to one count of endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of having sexual contact with a student, according to KRCGTV.
The Dixon School District, where Smith served as a paraprofessional and long-term substitute, released a statement after her arrest last year. Smith resigned from her position in August 2024.
Smith’s sentencing came as a result of her guilty plea to the charges of endangering a child’s welfare and inappropriate student contact, which led to a decade-long prison term.
Smith would offer students money, marijuana and alcohol to students in return for sex or to allow her to perform oral sex, the sheriff’s office said in a probable cause statement.
Smith would allegedly meet with the victims at isolated places or while her husband was away for work.
Smith was arrested last November on 19 counts, including statutory rape and sexual contact with a student, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office said at the time. (Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office )
Victims told investigators that Smith would have sex with them at her home or other locations “such as gravel roads or on the side of the road,” the sheriff’s office said. One victim said Smith asked him to have sex with her when he was in middle school.
The victims told investigators that Smith told them not to tell anyone about their encounters or else she could get into trouble.
Smith was a paraprofessional and long-term substitute, the Dixon School District. (Google Maps)
One victim said Smith’s husband threatened them with a baseball bat after she told him they were trying to blackmail her with a video of her smoking marijuana with students, USA Today reported, citing the probable cause statement.
Smith’s sentence includes 6 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for the charge of endangering the welfare of a child, and two years each for the sexual contact charges.