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© Bret Duke/Times-PicayuneDestrehan High teacher Shelley Dufresne, 32, is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student.
Two Destrehan High School teachers were arrested Wednesday on charges of having group sex with a student at one teacher's apartment in Kenner. Rachel Respess, 24, and Shelley Dufresne, 32, are accused of engaging in an illicit tryst with the 16-year-old boy after the Destrehan-Helen Cox High football game Sept. 12.

Kenner Police Chief Michael Glaser said the ménage à trois happened at Respess' apartment at 1354 W. Esplanade Ave. Respess, accompanied by her attorney, surrendered to authorities Wednesday at about 10:30 a.m. Dufresene had already been arrested Tuesday for allegedly having sex with the boy at a home in Montz, where she lives.

Kenner police booked both women with carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, Glaser said. If charged and convicted on those complaints, the teachers face 0 to 17 1/2 years in prison.

Glaser said the two women were friends, and both had been teachers of the student. Respess was his English teacher last year, Dufresne his English instructor until this week, the chief said.

Authorities said they were tipped to the allegations on Friday, when school system officials told the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office that a male student was "bragging to other students that he was having a sexual relationship with teachers." Detectives interviewed the student, who said the encounter was consensual and gave the officers an account of the events, Glaser said. Notwithstanding his statement, the legal age of consent in Louisiana is 17.

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© Brett Duke/Times-PicayuneRachel Repress, 24
Respess gave police a statement. Glaser said she "almost" confessed to having sex with the student but did not go into "intricate details."

"She gave a similar account of his story," Glaser said. "But she stopped short of a total confession."

Dufresne gave no statement to Kenner police. Still, Glaser said, investigators have "no doubt" that the women had sexual intercourse with the student -- and are investigating a rumor that the encounter was recorded on video.

"No matter what sex the victim is, everyone should be outraged," Glaser said. "You have an educator. Their responsibility is the safety and the education of children. ... They should have known better."

Respess' attorney, Jeffrey Smith, said his client maintains her innocence. "All I'm trying to do right now is getting her booked and bonded out," he said. "That's when everything -- the investigation -- begins."

The Kenner arrests came a day after St. Charles sheriff's deputies booked Dufresne with carnal knowledge of a juvenile. That incident occurred at a Montz home in September, authorities said. Dufresne's father is state District Judge Emile St. Pierre.

Stevie Crovetto, a spokeswoman for St. Charles public schools, said the school system "has been fully cooperating with the Sheriff's Office throughout the investigation." Dufresne and Respess were suspended Friday with pay, but that was modified to no-pay upon their arrests, school officials said