An assistant high school principal in Missouri allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old student whose family considered her to be a mentor for the teen, making sure “he got on the right path,” according to the boy’s father.

Elizabeth Giesler, 39, was charged Friday with felony sexual contact with a student, felony second-degree statutory sodomy and second-degree statutory rape after the alleged encounters with the student as she worked as the assistant principal at Ste. Genevieve High School, the Daily Journal reports.

The student told a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper that Giesler performed a sex act on him at her home in Ste. Genevieve County last month. They also had sex on two other occasions at her home between April and earlier this month, the student told investigators.

The father of the ninth-grader told KTVI that his son had known Giesler since sixth grade, adding that the family thought of her as a trusted adviser of sorts, someone whose tutelage would help the teen’s academic and athletic career.

“She talked to us about my son and what she can do for him, through life, like, give him a better life because he’s a good football player, so she was going to make sure he got on the right path,” the boy’s father told the station.

The boy now remains in protective custody with state officials, potentially up to 90 days, relatives said.

“She took advantage of him,” the teen’s father said. “She manipulated him because she knew what she was doing.”

The teen’s grandmother was disappointed that she once considered Giesler to be a “really nice person” and a positive influence on her grandson.

“And I thought she was really going to do something for my grandson, but yeah, she was doing something for him all right,” she told KTVI.

Gielser, who has previously worked as a teacher in another Missouri school district, has been placed on leave as an investigation continues. She was released from jail Friday after posting bond, KTVI reports.