Former Kearney teacher admits sex with student, faces possible prison term

A former Kearney junior high school teacher faces up to 11 years in prison after admitting he had ongoing sexual contact with a 14-year-old female student in his algebra class.

Rhett C. Rigby, 28, of Oak Grove, pleaded guilty Nov. 2 in Clay County Circuit Court to second-degree statutory rape and sexual contact with a student on public school property, which is a felony.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 8.

In June 2013, prosecutors charged Rigby with 10 sex crimes — four counts of second-degree statutory rape, four counts of statutory sodomy, one count of sexual contact with a student on public school property and one count of victim tampering.

According to court records, the incidents occurred between Oct. 1, 2012, and May 15, 2013, including at the child’s home and in Rigby’s locked classroom. Rigby and the student exchanged numerous explicit text messages and emails in the fall of 2012.

The two also sent each other nude photographs of themselves taken with their cellphones, said Clay County Prosecutor Daniel L. White.

The girl ultimately told her mother and a friend that she and Rigby had sex on multiple occasions at the school and after school.

School officials learned about the contact on May 13, 2013, and confronted Rigby the following day. He denied having sexual contact with the girl or exchanging photos with her.

The girl began sending Rigby emails about September 2012. Rigby initially denied to authorities that he sent photos of himself to students. Rigby also initially told school officials that he never was alone with a student before or after school and he never had gone to a student’s home.

In May 2013, school officials searched Rigby’s classroom and found a pregnancy test in his desk. The girl told investigators that Rigby made her provide a urine sample and that he sent her a photo of a negative result from a pregnancy test, ostensibly based on her sample, according to court documents.

A witness later told police she saw several explicit text messages between Rigby and the victim. She had seen his car parked at the victim’s home. The victim later told a friend that if she was pregnant, Rigby would make her take “abortion pills,” according to authorities, “whether she liked it or not.”

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Former Kearney teacher admits sex with student, faces possible prison term."