Student teacher Tayler Boncal of Beacon Falls, Connecticut, has handed herself in to police after being accused of having sex with one of her pupils.
Boncal has been charged with three counts of second-degree sexual assault with an 18-year-old male pupil of Conard High School.
She was a 21-year-old student teacher and assistant track coach at Conard at the time of the relationship with the student.
However, the story isn’t as straightforward as it seems because, while no teacher should ever abuse their position of responsibility, Fox61 have reported that the male student’s parents asked that she not be prosecuted.
Also, Tayler Boncal wasn’t the student’s coach at the time of their relationship but she did teach him in some social sciences classes.
There also isn’t much of an age gap between the two, 18 to 21, at the time the couple began dating – which doesn’t defend Boncal’s actions in her role as superior but certainly makes it slightly more understandable how a relationship developed.
The arrest warrant from the State of Connecticut Superior Court also reveals that the student initially pursued the teacher:
The Victim stated that he requested BONCAL’s phone number and she agreed to the exchange. The two began exchanging text messages on [13/12/2017].
The police report also revealed that the first time they had intercourse was at the teacher’s house on Christmas Day.
Boncal was fired from her job in January after an anonymous student reported the relationship to Principal Julio Duarte and the male victim admitted the relationship.
He also admitted that the pair had been sexting – but he’d since lost his phone.
Boncal handed herself to the police after charges were brought and, according to the arrest warrant; ‘expressed concern for the victim and was worried that he would get in trouble.’
Principal Julio Duarte released a statement on behalf of the school:
Dear Parent/Guardian,
The safety and well-being of all students is and will always be my number one priority. I know that there have been rumors amongst students these past few weeks. Now that the police action has concluded, I am able to inform you of an incident that I was made aware of between a former student teacher/assistant coach and a student.
Once I received the misconduct complaint, I immediately informed the police and launched an investigation. While I cannot comment on the specifics of the investigation, I can tell you that this person no longer works at Conard. The incident did not occur on our campus and I have been working closely with both the New Britain and West Hartford Police Departments to ensure that this individual is held accountable for their actions.
As educators, we are entrusted to protect and educate all of our students and know there are certain boundaries that can never be crossed. Also, we will not tolerate any behavior that compromises the safety or well-being of our students. I hope you will not let the misconduct of this one individual cast a shadow over all of our staff members who demonstrate their commitment to our students every day.
While Tayler Boncal’s actions were undeniably unprofessional having read the arrest warrant there does seem to be genuine affection between the young couple and remorse on behalf of both of them.
It remains to be seen whether Boncal will face serious legal repercussions as a result of her relationship or whether the pleas from the parents and the victim in the case will see this one dropped by the court.
