Teacher Caught Having Relations with 13-Year-Old Pleads "Not Guilty"

All told, the relationship allegation seemed to be based on rumors circulating among students. That’s how the principal construed it.

“There were some rumors,” Liberty Elementary School District Superintendent Richard Rundhaug told the outlet. “He looked into those rumors but he felt like in the long run, this was information that you might typically hear from sixth graders.” He said Dickey ran a two-day probe into Zamora. The principal determined that evidence showed the teacher maybe favored the teen, but didn’t show anything illegal.

According to the notes, students confirmed that there were rumors about a relationship. One suggested that “Mrs. Zamora wouldn’t do that.”

The notes were dated Feb. 8.

The principal ended up reporting Zamora to authorities March 21 after the 13-year-old’s parents discovered sexts from Zamora on his phone and Instagram, according to The Arizona Republic.