An Indianapolis Public Schools counselor has been accused of seducing and having sex with at least two high school students she was responsible for counseling, reportedly meeting with one of them for oral and vaginal sex — at times in her school office — over the course of several months.
Shana Taylor, 37, was charged Wednesday with nine counts of child seduction, one count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She faces a maximum of 54 years in prison. The case remains under investigation and additional charges can still be added.
Taylor was a student at IU-Bloomington and a recipient of the Cox Scholarship in 2008, according to an IU news release and her LinkedIn account.
She is being held at the Marion County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, which her attorney said she is unlikely to post.
According to court documents, it took six days for IPS officials to report the case to the Department of Child Services after the assistant principal initially heard about it. The delay may have violated Indiana law requiring school officials to immediately report suspected child abuse.
The school district initially heard about the allegations on Feb. 17, when a 17-year-old student’s mother disclosed that she had seen several text and Facebook messages between Taylor and her son, a student at an IPS alternative high school on Laurel Street.
The messages included photos of Taylor that were sexual in nature — at least one photo displayed her uncovered genital region, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Taylor has served as a guidance counselor for IPS since March 2015, according to school district documents. She worked specifically with an alternative education program for students with social and behavioral difficulties.
The 17-year-old boy told police he and Taylor began talking in October 2015, and within a week, the conversation turned to a sexual nature. During one of her breaks from work, the two met at his home in Indianapolis, where they ate food, smoked marijuana and had sex.
The student told police he and Taylor continued their relationship until the first or second week of February and had sexual intercourse or oral sex on more than 20 different occasions.
Half of these times, Taylor would meet the boy at her residence in Greenwood, Indiana, but additional encounters took place in the backseat of her car, a blue Hyundai Elantra. They had an additional sexual encounter in a Bloomington hotel, but records did not specify which hotel or when it happened.
Between November and December, Taylor allegedly gave the student oral sex in her office while school was in session. She covered the window on her office door and would perform the oral sex in the corner of the office so they would not be seen, the report said.
During the course of the investigation, detectives would later seize swabs of possible biological fluids from the wall in that exact corner in Taylor’s guidance office.
The boy told police he knew of two other students with whom Taylor was also having a sexual relationship on school property.
A different student, a 16-year-old who attends the same school, said he received a phone call sometime this fall from the 17-year-old student, asking him to come to his house because he had a woman there.
At the house, the two boys essentially engaged in three-way sex with Taylor. While she was giving oral sex to the older student, the 16-year-old reportedly penetrated her from behind.
William Jensen, assistant principal for Positive Supports Academy in the Longfellow Building at 510 Laurel Street, initially heard the allegations from the first student’s mother on Feb. 17, but no school official reported the incident to the Department of Child Services until Feb. 23.
In a statement, IPS officials said they continue to cooperate with authorities but could not comment further on the ongoing criminal investigation.
These allegations are the most recent in a series of child sex abuse cases that took place within Indianapolis schools. In January, an investigation began into former Park Tudor basketball head coach Kyle Cox for an inappropriate relationship with a female student. School officials also delayed reporting this case, according to federal court documents.
Jessica Wegg, an attorney with Indianapolis-based law firm Saeed & Little, frequently represents child victims of sex abuse.
Reporting these types of cases immediately is not only required by law, it is crucial to the safety of the children, Wegg said. Without police getting involved right away, there is no court order preventing the alleged perpetrator from contacting the victims involved, she said.
“When you don’t report it immediately, it means that evidence can be destroyed,” Wegg said.
In Indiana, there are minimal penalties for institutions that do not report cases of child molestation immediately, said Jonathan Little, an attorney and partner with Saeed & Little. Those who do not report immediately could be charged with a misdemeanor, essentially the same level misdemeanor as public intoxication, Little said.
“They should prosecute the administrators who didn’t do anything,” Little said
Taylor appeared in court for her charging hearing Wednesday wearing a yellow shirt and grabbing from a box of tissues. She cried and wiped tears off her face while the judge read off her charges and the potential prison time she might have to serve.
Taylor is a single mother of a 12-year-old daughter whose father passed away several years ago, said her attorney, Brian Newcomb. The girl is now under the care of Taylor’s mother, Newcomb said.
Taylor’s trial is set for May 11.
“She’s having a tough time,” Newcomb said. “She’s taking responsibility for her actions.”
