Zachary teacher arrested in child sex case resigns

ZACHARY, La.- A former 34-year-old Northwestern Middle School teacher, accused of having illegal, sexual meet-ups with a 15-year-old student, is no longer employed by Zachary Community School District.

Ellarea Silva resigned during her due process period on Feb. 27 and ZCSD Superintendent Scott Devillier, stated, "Ellarea Silva is no longer an employee of the district" on Tuesday.

Silva is charged with carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with juveniles and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. Jail records show that Silva bonded out of the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Feb. 26. She was being held on a $225,000 bond.

A spokesperson with the sheriff's office says property was put up to pay for $168,000 of the bail and the rest was paid by a bondsman.

Both the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff and the Zachary Police Department are investigating since crimes may have occurred within the Zachary School System and at the former teacher’s home in the parish.

According to new information released when Silva was arrested Thursday, detectives said the teacher and an unidentified 15-year-old student began their affair by exchanging emails on a school system email account. Eventually, the conversation moved to private email accounts so the messages couldn’t be tracked, the teenager told authorities.

At some point, the teenager said the teacher began sharing nude photos and videos but made a point to hide her face. Later, the chatting became physical and the pair met for sex eight or nine times this summer, the boy told investigators.

The victim told investigators, the pair met for sex at the teacher’s home where she gave him an e-cigarette with THC. They’d have sex at the home where the teacher’s child was also present, authorities wrote in arrest documents obtained by WBRZ.

At some point during the affair, the teenager told Silva he wanted to make their relationship known but she begged him not to. Detectives wrote in an arrest report: “… [Silva] asked the victim not to disclose [the relationship] due to how his disclosure would affect her career and her family.”

Silva was booked into jail Thursday – nearly a week after WBRZ began inquiring about reports of a teacher being placed on leave amid a criminal investigation at Northwestern Middle School in Zachary.

Monday, school system leaders confirmed Silva was on leave but refused to elaborate.

Wednesday, a city councilman shared an email from the school principal chastising him for discussing the situation on Facebook amid concerns that a “child has possibly lost their innocence at the hands of a teacher.”

Police asked for the parents of kids who may have been taught by Silva to discuss the incident with their children and report any concerns to authorities.

“Detectives are requesting that parents of students who may have had contact with Silva talk to their children about their interactions with her and contact ZPD detectives at 225-654-9393 if they believe their child was victimized,” the Zachary Police Chief said.

Zachary School Superintendent Scott Devillier declined to do an interview after Silva's arrest Thursday and instead gave the following statement.

"We informed law enforcement when it was brought to our attention on Friday, January 24, 2020. Immediately, the teacher was placed on administrative leave. No one was covering up anything, nor sweeping anything under the rug. We will continue to work in cooperation with the Zachary Police Department and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff office."