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Cheer Coach Was Investigated For Allegedly Doing Heroin — Which Turned Into A Student Sex Scandal

Police made a shocking discovery after coworkers noticed Raquel Elena Spencer acting strangely while teaching English at a Georgia high school.

By Eric Shorey

A teacher in Georgia has pleaded guilty to having sex with a student and has been sentenced to 90 days in prison and 10 years of probation as part of a plea deal that included the court dropping a charge for heroin possession.

Raquel Eleana Spencer resigned from her job as a teacher at Northwest Whitfield High School after being arrested for heroin possession on April 25 of last year. While police had investigated her for drug possession, they also discovered evidence that she had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student between October 2017 and April 2018. She was ordered to a minimum security prison, 300 hours of community service, and fined $1000 on March 8, according to The Daily Citizen-News of Dalton, Georgia.

Authorities were alerted to Spencer's alleged drug use when coworkers became concerned about her strange behavior in February, noting that she had been speaking rapidly and was unable to maintain a coherent conversation. She consented to a search, allegedly leading to her drugs getting discovered, the local outlet reports.

Spencer had been employed as an English teacher and as a coach for cheerleading and track and field at the school from 2013 until her resignation in 2018, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Whitfield County Schools Superintendent Judy Gilreath did not know whether she believed the sentence to be fair.

"But I do hope that she gets the treatment and help she needs," Gilreath said to The Daily Citizen-News of Dalton, Georgia.