Former Substitute Teacher Sentenced for Heinous School Abuse
A former Missouri middle school teacher has been handed a ten-year prison sentence after admitting to sexually abusing at least one student. Carissa Smith, 31, received her sentence in Pulaski County Circuit Court on November 19, following her guilty plea in September to two counts of sexual contact with a student and one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Disturbing Pattern of Abuse and Grooming
Court documents reveal a deeply troubling pattern of behaviour from Smith, who worked as a substitute teacher across multiple schools in the Dixon R-1 School District. The former educator would reportedly engage in sexual acts with students at her residence while her husband was away at work, as well as in other locations including her car, on gravel roads, or by the roadside.
Smith used money, marijuana, and alcohol as incentives for sexual acts or to permit her to perform oral sex on the students. Authorities confirmed she would pay students at least $100 in cash or through CashApp. In one particularly disturbing instance, a student was allegedly recruited by a classmate who asked if he 'wanted to make some money for work' before taking the boy to Smith's residence, where the abuse occurred while the other student waited outside.
Systematic Grooming Through Social Media
One victim disclosed that his first sexual encounter with Smith happened while he was a student at Dixon Middle School. They connected after she substituted for another teacher and provided the teenager with her Snapchat details. Smith began sending explicit photographs of her breasts, buttocks, and nude images of herself in the shower, according to court filings.
After propositioning the student for sex and offering him money, she explicitly instructed him to maintain secrecy about their interactions. Court documents state: "Mrs. Smith told them not to talk about it or else they would get into trouble. Mrs. Smith stated, 'You know you can't talk about this with anybody?'"
Attempts to Conceal Evidence and Wider Complicity
The extent of Smith's attempts to conceal her crimes became clear when one student was found to possess a video on his phone showing her performing oral sex. The former teacher reportedly 'smashed' the device to destroy the incriminating recording.
In another alarming development, Smith allegedly told her husband that one victim was blackmailing her with footage of them smoking marijuana, prompting her husband to threaten the boy with a baseball bat. Another victim claimed that during a sexual encounter, Smith forced him to ejaculate inside her. When the boy told her "that was f*****d up," she responded by offering him additional money.
The victim also stated he smoked marijuana with Smith and her friend Lacey Beam, a former nurse for the Dixon School District. On one occasion, Smith dropped Beam at her home before taking the boy to McDonald's because her husband was at home with their children.
School District Response and Professional Timeline
Smith's teaching career included working as a substitute at Dixon Middle School during the 2022-2023 academic year and serving as a paraprofessional at the district's high school for the 2023-2024 year. She was hired as a long-term substitute teacher at the high school on July 22 but resigned on August 30.
Following Smith's arrest, the Dixon R-1 School District issued a public statement to KY3 acknowledging they had "received a report of possible misconduct by Ms. Smith towards at least one District student" earlier in the school year. The district confirmed they had shared this report with the appropriate investigating authorities, describing the information as "very disturbing and distressing for everyone in our school community."
The statement concluded by reaffirming that "our school district's first and most important mission is to provide the best education possible for our students in a safe and secure environment."
Originally facing 17 felony charges including eight counts of statutory rape, three counts of sexual contact with a student, two counts of statutory sodomy, two counts of sexual trafficking of a child, one count of patronising prostitution from someone 14 years old or younger and one count of hindering prosecution of a felony, Smith's guilty plea to reduced charges has resulted in her ten-year prison sentence.
