EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — A former teacher at an East Hartford magnet school was arrested for having an inappropriate relationship with a student, according to police.
Karen Vinick, 34, of Manchester was arrested and charged with risk of injury to a minor. She was the drama teacher for CREC Academy of Computer Science and Engineering Middle School. She is no longer employed at CREC, police said.
There was a drama club sleepover at the school in May, where Vinick and a 13-year-old boy, who was a student, slept next to each other in the school's Great Hall, according to the arrest warrant. Surveillance video showed them sharing the same blanket and spooning.
Two teachers who also oversaw the sleepover reported their concerns regarding Vinick to the principal, who then reported the incident to DCF in June and placed Vinick on leave.
The victim told investigators that Vinick told him she loved him and was romantically interested in him two months prior to the sleepover. He said he was not sure how to tell his teacher what she was doing and saying was wrong and found difficulty in telling her no, the arrest warrant states.
The victim told investigators that "nothing physical" happened in the relationship. Police said there were no reports of evidence of sexual contact between the teacher and the victim.
Electronic evidence was investigated, showing Vinick had texted and called the victim outside of the drama club text thread, police said.
Once word got out that a DCF case regarding the sleepover was filed, Vinick called the victim and told him to deny the relationship happened if he was asked and to not tell his mother, the victim told investigators.
Vinick was released on a court-set $150,000 bond.
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