Linh Ta

lta@dmreg.com

An Ankeny High School teacher was arrested Friday on a charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee.

Amanda Caye Dreier, 27, had an ongoing sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male student who graduated from the high school in the spring, according to police. She was an English teacher at the school.

Dreier resigned June 13, six days after police found her with the student inside a parked vehicle near the Prairie Ridge Sports Complex, 1510 N.W. Ash Drive, Ankeny.

Officers were responding to an unrelated call around 11 p.m. near the Kirkendall Public Library when they observed two vehicles parked side by side. They found Dreier and the former high school student inside one of the vehicles.

Although the officer didn't observe any sexual activity, their interaction "didn’t sit right with the officer," said Ankeny police Capt. Joe Schaffer.

Detectives later followed up with Dreier and the victim, Schaffer said. Through text messages, social media and interviews, police determined a sexual relationship had started before the day when officers first noticed them together, Schaffer said.

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In Iowa, teachers are prohibited from having sexual contact with students, even if the student is 18. Teachers are prohibited from having sexual contact with former students for at least 30 days following graduation. Ankeny High School's graduation was June 4.

"It was obviously some unscrupulous behavior they uncovered during the investigation," Schaffer said. "We went back as far as we could ... but we can’t say when this started to turn (into a sexual relationship)."

Ankeny police worked with the Ankeny superintendent's office after learning about the relationship, Schaffer said.

"The conduct alleged in this case is not tolerated in Ankeny schools," the district said in a statement. "The district thoroughly investigates any report that raises a concern about the conduct of a staff member, including any report of an inappropriate relationship."

Online documents show Dreier was a student council adviser and involved with the school's Dance Marathon fundraiser. An Ankeny schools spokeswoman could not say how long Dreier worked for the district or what activities she was involved in.

District administrators were not available for comment.

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In 2014, Mandy Davenport pleaded guilty to having sex with a 17-year-old student in 2012 while she was a teacher at Ankeny High School.

The former language arts teacher was sentenced to two years of probation and placed on the state's sex offender registry.

Dreier, who is married, attended Ankeny High School, graduating in 2007. She earned a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in 2010.

A warrant was issued for Dreier's arrest. She turned herself in around 2 p.m. Friday and was booked into the Polk County Jail. She was released on a $5,000 bond.

Sexual exploitation by a school employee is a class D felony punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment and a $7,500 fine.