Ogden junior high teacher charged with 'sexting' teen student

OGDEN — A junior high school teacher has been charged with sending nude photos of herself and sexually explicit messages to a 14-year-old student.

Liza Anne Roberts, 26, was charged Wednesday in 2nd District Court with sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and dealing in harmful material to a minor, a third-degree felony.

Prosecutors say Roberts bought a cellphone for the male student on Oct. 1 while she was teaching at Mound Fort Junior High School, 1396 Liberty Ave. in Ogden.

She and the student then "sent each other sexually explicit text messages and pictures containing nudity," according to charging documents. The student told investigators that Roberts sent a topless photo of herself and requested nude pictures of him in return.

The principal of the school was informed of the misconduct on Oct. 17, the charges state. Police seized the cellphones of both the boy and the teacher on Oct. 22.

Roberts made her initial appearance in court Wednesday and was able to post her $15,000 bond.

Wendy Morgan said her daughter was in Roberts' math class and both were surprised to hear about the charges.

“We would have never thought that Ms. Roberts was capable of doing something like this. ... There better be no other teachers doing this,” Morgan said. “She was a good teacher. She got my youngest ... to enroll into some honors classes. She pushed her to go forward. We are really shocked.”

— Pat Reavy

Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam