Former Elementary School Nurse Admits To Sexually Abusing Student And Giving Him Hush Money

A former elementary school nurse from Missouri has taken a plea deal and admitted to statutory raping a student several times, whom she offered $2K to stay quiet. 

Tina Maria Sumner, 47, pleaded guilty Friday, August 9, to two counts of statutory rape and one count of victim tampering in a plea deal, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Now, a judge has to decide whether or not the former school nurse will spend seven years behind bars. She will definitely be serving a five-year probation term for pleading guilty to victim tampering in the case, the newspaper reports.

If the case had gone to trial, Sumner could have faced a maximum of 17 years behind bars.

Sumner was arrested on the charges in 2017. She immediately resigned from Fox Elementary School in Arnold following the arrest.

Tina Maria Sumner admitted having sex with a student while she worked as a school nurse at an elementary school. Photo: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

The former nurse had sex with the student at least eight times between 2015 and 2018, according to a  probable cause statement from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office obtained by KSDK in St. Louis. The incidents occurred at Sumner’s home, the victim’s home, and at a Fox School District building.

It’s not clear how old the victim was.

After the 2017 arrest, the victim claimed Sumner offered him $2,000 to pay off his car. A copy of a check reportedly confirmed he received that money.

Sumner was named the top school nurse by the Jefferson County Association of School Nurses in 2005, according to the New York Post. She first started working at the school in 1999, the Jefferson County Leader reports.