Kenleigh Prendergast, 25, was charged with sexual battery after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with a teenage student. (Google/Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office)
A counselor at a $20,000-per-year South Carolina day school was fired and arrested after admitting she had sex with an underage student, police officials said.
Kenleigh Prendergast, who worked at Spartanburg Day School, was arrested just after midnight Saturday and charged with sexual battery for having an inappropriate relationship with a student who was 16 or 17 years old.
Investigators said the relationship began in January 2018 and ended a few days before it was reported to deputies on March 25.
Fox Carolina reports that Prendergast admitted to deputies that she was texting, calling and using Facetime with the student before eventually meeting the student at her private counseling practice and home.
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In a statement, Spartanburg Day School, which is a nationally accredited independent school for students in grades 3K to 12, said Prenergast was hired as a school counselor in August of 2017.
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“Effective immediately, Ms. Prendergast’s employment with the school has been terminated.”
“SDS puts the safety and wellbeing of our students above all things, and will cooperate fully with the Sheriff’s Office throughout this process,” the school said.
The investigation is ongoing, officials said.
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