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AND SHE REACHED OUT TO US, UPSET WITH HOW SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT THESE CHARGES. >> I WAS DEVASTATED. I WAS DEVASTATED BC YOU SEND YOUR KIDS TO SCHOOL THINKING THAT THEY’RE SAF CHRIS: SABRINA WESTMORELAND SAYS THE NEWS THAT HER SON’S FORMER TEACHER TURNED HERSELF INTO POLICE AND FACED A JUDGE FRIDAY ON MULTIPLE SEX CRIME CHARGES CAME AS A COMPLETE SHOCK. >> I’M REALLY HURT AND SICK TO MY STOMACH. CHRIS: 38-YEAR-OLD HARDING MIDDLE SCHOOL SPECIAL NEEDS TEACHER MAKENZIE JOHNSON IS ACCUSED OF TOUCHING AND ASKING TO PERFORM A SEX ACT ON A 14-YEAR-OLD BOY AT LEAST TWICE. >> HE TRIED TO REBUFF HER ADVANCES AND SHE CONTINUED ON. CHRIS: POLICE SAY THE FIRST INCIDENT HAPPENED AS SHE PICKED HIM UP FROM A SPORTING EVENT. COURT DOCUMENTS SAY THE SECOND HAPPENED AS SHE AND THE BOY WATCHED T.V. AT HER HOUSE. THEY SAY JOHNSON’S HUSBAND THEN UNEXPECTEDLY WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR. POLICE ALSO SAY JOHNSON SENT NUDE PICTURES TO HIM THROUGH SNAPCHAT. >> IT’S DISTURBING TO KNOW THAT A POSSIBLE PEDOPHILE HAD ACCESS TO MY CHILD WHO CANNOT COMMUNICATE VERBALLY WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. CHRIS: POLICE SAY WHILE THE BOY WAS A STUDENT, HE WASN’T IN HER CLASS AND THEY DON’T BELIEVE THERE ARE OTHER VICTIMS. BUT WESTMORELAND SAYS SHE WORRIES THAT HER SON OR ANOTHER STUDENT MAY HAVE BEEN ABUSED. SHE SAYS SHE HAS A BIG PROBLEM WITH HOW SHE FOUND OUT JOHNSON WAS CHARGED. >> I ACTUALLY FOUND OUT FROM MY KCCI NEWS APP. IT WAS NEVER COMMUNICATED TO ME FROM THE SCHOOL. CHRIS: SHE SAYS IT TOOK MULTIPLE CALLS TO FIND OUT HER SON EVEN HAD A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER AND THEN -- WHEN SHE WAS COMING BACK. CHRIS: WESTMORELAND SAYS SHE KNOWS THERE’S INFORMATION THE DISTRICT COULDN’T SHARE, BUT SHE WOULD’VE LIKED TO HEAR MORE. >> WE WERE FAILED. CHRIS: DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIDN’T GO ON CAMERA BUT RELEASED A STATEMENT NOTING THAT JOHNSON WAS PLACED ON LEAVE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE DISTRICT BEING MADE AWARE OF THE INVESTIGATION ON APRIL 15. SHE RESIGNED M

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A former Des Moines teacher is in jail Friday, accused of sex crimes against a student.Harding Middle School special-needs teacher Makenzie Johnson, 38, is charged with lascivious acts with a child, solicitation to commit a felony, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, third-degree sex abuse and dissemination/exhibition of obscene materials to a minor.Police accused Johnson of touching and asking to perform a sex act on a 14-year-old boy at least twice."He tried to rebuff her advances and she continued on," Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said.Police said the first incident happened when Johnson picked the boy up from a sporting event.According to court documents, the second attempt occurred while Johnson and the boy were watching TV at her house.Johnson's husband unexpectedly walked through the door during the attempt, according to court documents.Police said Johnson sent nude pictures to the boy through Snapchat.Des Moines parent Sabrina Westmoreland said she is upset with how she learned of the charges against Johnson, who taught her nonverbal son."I actually found out from my KCCI News app," Westmoreland said. "It was never communicated to me from the school."Westmoreland said news of the accusations made her feel sick to her stomach."I was devastated," Westmoreland said. "I was devastated because you send your kids to school thinking that they're safe."Police said the boy was a student who was not in Johnson's class and they do not believe there are other victims.Westmoreland said she worries that her son or another student may have been abused."It's very disturbing to know that a possible pedophile had access to my child, who cannot communicate verbally what happened to him," she said.She said that, while she understands that the school district could not share every detail of the case, she wished it would have communicated more."We were failed," Westmoreland said.Harding Middle School sent the following note to parents Friday after news of the arrest broke:"Dear Harding families:"There has been an on-going criminal investigation over the past several weeks involving one of our former teachers, Makenzie Johnson. She was arrested today and charged with sexual abuse involving a student."While I cannot go into details about the victim, I can confirm that the abuse involved one student who was not in her classroom or a current student at Harding. "The school district’s human resources office placed Johnson on leave as soon as they were made aware of the criminal complaint and investigation in mid-April, meaning she could not and has not returned to Harding. This was prior to any charges being filed. She resigned from her position two weeks ago."We share your concerns. This is an extremely serious matter, which is why the school district took the action it did immediately and has been working with law enforcement in their investigation."If you have any concerns or questions please feel free to contact me."Thank you,"Dr. Joy Linquist, Principal"Des Moines Public Schools declined an on-camera interview but released a statement noting that Johnson was placed on leave immediately following the district being made aware of the investigation on April 15. Johnson resigned May 17.The school district said it continues to work with police.Johnson is being held in Polk County Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond.