Teacher adopted 15-year-old pupil 'so she could have sex with him'

A married school teacher has been accused of repeatedly having sex with a 15-year-old student that she adopted.

Rayna Culver, from the Burlington Township in New Jersey, was arrested in May on charges of sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Her attorney Robin Lord told The Trentonian that the charges were “completely fabricated and made up.”

But prosecutors allege that the victim, a former student of hers at Rivera Middle School in Trenton, were “very close”.

The 43-year-old became the boy’s legal guardian in 2016 after inviting him to stay with her when he was thrown out of a relative’s home, court documents stated.

The student reportedly told police their relationship turned sexual when Culver tried to fondle him before bedtime and stripped off his clothes.

She is then alleged to have performed oral sex on him and engaged in intercourse.

“After that first incident, they would engage in sex often, and it was to the point where he felt that if he told her to stop she would get mad and kick him out of the house,” the police complaint reads, according to South Jersey Local News.

“(The victim) told Culver via text message that he didn’t want to have sex anymore, and she made it clear that she did not want it to stop.”

In April, the boy reportedly gave his phone to police, in which Culver’s number was allegedly saved as “mom”.

Culver denies all allegations.

Mr Lord said: “She looks forward to these charges being dismissed. The state’s theory of the case is a completely fabricated recitation made up by a troubled, young man.”