Jennifer Caswell during an interview with Dr Phil: Dr Phil/Youtube

The family of an eighth-grade boy who was abused by his teacher say the school threatened to paddle him as punishment for “spreading rumours”.

Jennifer Caswell, 31, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2015 for sex crimes against the student, who is thought to be 15 years old.

The teenager, who has not been identified, was allegedly told to “keep his mouth closed” by Marty Webb, the Principal of the high school he attended in Oklahoma.

His father made the claims during a sworn deposition and also added that he refused to let Mr Webb paddle his son as punishment for spreading “false rumours”, The Oklahoman newspaper reported.

He went on to sue Caswell, Hollis schools and several school district officials and also claimed the school allowed the former teacher to resign knowing she would be able to keep her teaching credentials.

Hollis Public Schools agreed to pay $125,000 (£96,000) to settle claims that the school participated in covering up Caswell's sexual abuse, according to Charles Watts, an attorney for the victim's family.

The attorney for the school, Andy Fugitt, said school officials reported the matter to the police and the local district attorney's office around the time Caswell resigned.

The school has always denied claims the student was threatened with any form of punishment and stated that only the Oklahoma State Department of Education has the authority to revoke teaching credentials.

"The school district responded to the information it had - which was very limited - in an appropriate way," Mr Fugitt said, noting that Caswell and the student both initially denied the relationship.