A former Madison County teacher was arrested this afternoon on charges of having sex with a student.

Lyndsey Sherrod Bates is charged with a felony count of engaging in a sex act with a student younger than 19, records show. Bates is also charged with the following misdemeanors: three counts of distributing obscene material to a student and one count of having sexual contact with a student, according to Madison County jail records. Bail is set at $32,000.

Bates, 22, is the daughter-in-law of Stacy Bates. Stacy Bates is the chief deputy of the Madison County sheriff’s office, which investigated the case.

“The Sheriff’s Office started an investigation as soon as the allegations were brought to our attention, and Chief Bates was never involved in that investigation,” said Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner in a statement.

Lyndsey Bates’ relationship to Stacy Bates “in no way has affected the investigative process or urgency leading to today’s arrest, nor to the future criminal justice proceedings,” according to a statement from Lt. Donny Shaw, a sheriff’s office spokesman. “Because the victim(s) in these charges are juveniles no specific details of the investigation are being released at this time.”

Lyndsey Bates began working at Madison County High at the beginning of the current school year. She has since resigned.

In a statement, Madison County Superintendent Matt Massey said, “We are fully cooperating with law enforcement. Our system fully condemns such actions and we are also offering counseling for our students.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Lyndsey Bates has an attorney. She turned herself in to the jail around 4:30 p.m.

Updated at 7:48 p.m. with new information throughout.