In Alabama, while a Pickens County teacher is currently serving three years in state prison for having consensual sex with an 18-year-old student, there is no law on the books barring police from having sex with people they arrest.

That's according to a new report by BuzzFeed News, which found that Alabama was one of 35 states that have not specifically outlawed cops from engaging in sexual activity with people in police custody.

Meanwhile, any sex between Alabama correctional officers and inmates is considered felony sexual misconduct, according to state Department of Corrections policy.

"It shall be unlawful for any employee to engage in sexual conduct with a person who is in the custody of the Department of Corrections, the Department of

Youth Services, a sheriff, a county, or a municipality," DOC policy states.

The BuzzFeed story focuses on the story of a Brooklyn 18-year-old named Anna, who alleges that NYPD officers handcuffed her and took turns raping her in the back of a moving van on Sept. 15, 2017.

The cops are no longer on the force and they have both been charged with rape, but Anna's case shines a light on the power differential between police officers and the people in their custody, which provides fertile ground for abuse.

Terra Burns, an Alaska-based anti-sexual assault advocate, told BuzzFeed News that it is essential that states pass laws aimed at closing the loophole that allows police officers to have sex with people they arrest without risking major criminal charges.

"Cultural shifts happen, but what we need to see is a policy shift," said. "There's a long entrenched history of institutionalized rape culture that has to change."