Former teacher in Lee’s Summit charged with sodomy of high school student
A 25-year-old former teacher in Lee’s Summit faces felony charges after an alleged sexual relationship with a high school student.
Zhiyang Ji, of Shawnee, was charged Wednesday in Jackson County with two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy. He is accused of having a sexual relationship with a student from Lee’s Summit North High School.
In a statement released Wednesday, Lee’s Summit School District officials said they were aware of criminal charges against a former teacher in the district.
It is unclear when Ji left the district.
“Because of our desire to protect the privacy of our students, because this is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, and because we do not comment on individual personnel actions, we are unable to provide further details regarding this matter,” the statement read.
“However, the school district takes allegations of this nature very seriously, and took immediate corrective action upon learning of them. Nothing is more important than the safety and welfare of our students.”
According to court records, school officials reported the relationship to Lee’s Summit police after being tipped off by students who saw Ji with the victim at Starbucks.
The victim reportedly told detectives the victim and Ji had touched each other outside of school grounds and Ji had performed a sex act on the victim.
According to court documents, Ji confirmed the sexual contact and notified detectives that the two sent nude pictures of themselves to each other. He also told detectives he knew the relationship was illegal.
The alleged incidents occurred in February, according to court documents.
Ji told police he has been in the United States since 2012 on a work visa from China. He started work as a Chinese teacher in Lee’s Summit in August of last year.
Prosecutors requested a bond of $75,000 for Ji.
Toriano Porter: 816-234-4779, @torianoporter
This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Former teacher in Lee’s Summit charged with sodomy of high school student."