Talleyville teacher sent explicit videos to student because she was 'bored': court docs
A Talleyville Spanish teacher accused of sending sexually explicit videos to a 14-year-old student earlier this month claimed she sent the files because she was “bored,” court documents say.
Alanis Pinion, who began working as a contract employee at St. Mary Magdalen School in November 2023, was charged Thursday with two felonies and one misdemeanor in connection with a New Castle County Police investigation.
Detectives began looking into 24-year-old Pinion after being contacted on July 12 about videos that had been sent two days earlier via Snapchat. While Pinion had been communicating with the teen for several weeks, it wasn't until July 10 that the "erotic" videos were sent to him, an arrest warrant said.
According to the warrant, that night, the teen had been messaging with Pinion through the social media app. Over a 30-to-45 minute span, she sent him 10 to 15 videos, court documents say.
When the teen asked why she was sending the videos, she reportedly replied: "Because I'm bored." The teen also told police that Pinion claimed, "I'm going to be your favorite teacher forever."
INITIAL STORY: St. Mary Magdalen School teacher sent 'sexually explicit' photos to student: police
After receiving the videos, the teen recorded them by re-playing them on Snapchat on an iPad while using his phone to record the iPad. When his parents learned of the videos, they told him to block Pinion and delete the visuals.
By the time police got involved two days later, most of the videos had been deleted, though one was recovered on the teen's iCloud account. When detectives later searched Pinion's home, they found clothes that appeared similar to what she wore in that video, as well as bedroom furnishings that matched those recorded.
A search of her cell phone showed she had since deleted Snapchat, but phone notifications indicated she had received messages on the app from the teen at the time that she was sending him videos. Detectives also saw that the phone's camera was used during the same timeframe, the warrant says.
Parish: Pinion had completed background check
On Friday morning, St. Mary Magdalen Parish Rev. James Kirk emailed the school community to notify them of the arrest, calling Pinion a "former" part-time, contract employee. He said county police reached out to the school earlier this week.
"The school, parish and our Diocese officials supported the police as they conducted their investigation," the letter added.
In the email, Kirk said Pinion had "successfully completed the required background check process prior to heremployment." It's not immediately clear what the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington's background check entails, though private schools' checks often mimic those required for public schools.
Public schools are required to conduct criminal background checks and search the Delaware child protection registry before hiring personnel.
Private schools, including camps directly operated by a private school, are encouraged to do the same, though they can choose not to perform these same checks as long as the school informs the parents or guardians attendees that the school or camp is not meeting minimum background check safety requirements for its staff members.
New Castle County Police ask anyone with information to contact Detective Daniel Watson at (302) 395-8030 or by email at daniel.watson@newcastlede.gov.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why court records say Delaware teacher sent explicit videos to student
