Teacher who left claw marks on underage student's back after sex romp gets sweetheart plea deal

A former Missouri math teacher who pleaded guilty to having sex with a student could potentially serve a very short prison sentence thanks to a sweetheart plea deal.

As Blaze News reported in January, 26-year-old Hailey Clifton-Carmack was arrested for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student.

'They are going to do it behind my back, so I may as well let it happen.'

Clifton-Carmack — a former teacher at Laquey High School — allegedly had sex with a minor on multiple occasions and in different locations, including at the school.

WITI-TV reported that a witness told detectives with the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office that the teacher and victim had "used students as lookouts while they had sex during school."

The victim allegedly sent photos of scratches on his back to a classmate. The student said the scratches were from Clifton-Carmack after they had sex in the classmate's driveway, according to the police report.

Blaze News reported last month that the victim's father — Mark Creighton — allegedly knew of the suspect's purported relationship with his son.

An anonymous witness reportedly told the father that she was going to report the child sex abuse, and the father allegedly responded: “They are going to do it behind my back, so I may as well let it happen.”

The father allegedly admitted to Pulaski County Detective Sgt. Bryan Gibbs that Clifton-Carmack had been to his house.

Prosecutors said Creighton “knew of the relationship of his minor child and the 26-year-old teacher, and instead of reporting the information, he continued to cover for them and allowed the relationship to continue” and “even allowed Hailey to come over to his residence and see the victim while he was present.”

The teen’s father was charged with child endangerment in January.

Clifton-Carmack allegedly denied the child sex crime accusations when questioned by detectives in December 2023. Clifton-Carmack fled to Texas, where she was arrested in January and was extradited back to Missouri.

Clifton-Carmack initially was charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree statutory rape, having sexual contact with a student, fourth-degree child molestation, and seven counts of misdemeanor furnishing pornographic material to a minor.

However, the disgraced teacher made a deal and pleaded guilty to sexual contact with a student, which allows her to avoid more serious charges.

On Friday, Circuit Judge John Beger sentenced Clifton-Carmack to four years in prison. The divorced mother of two also was ordered to complete a sex offender treatment program.

The judge also said he would "receive a report on her progress and behavior in about 90 days, and if she does well, her sentence could be suspended, and she would be placed on probation," KJLU-TV reported.

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