Charges Dropped/Dismissed Leah Gayle Shipman, Wilmington, North Carolina (arrested Jan 2010)

Gawker: Teacher Who Faced Statutory Rape Charges for Sleeping with Student Fends Off Trial by Marrying Him (Jan 22 2013)

Last month, when it came time to move the charges along, prosecutors realized they no longer had a viable case. "None of the statements made in this case would be admissible without the victim," Brunswick County Assistant District Attorney Gina Essey told the StarNews of Wilmington. But the state didn't leave court empty handed: [Leah] Shipman received a 30-day suspended jail sentence and 12 months probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of resisting a public officer over texts she sent Johnnie Ray while he was being interrogated. "The police witnessed the texts, and we were able to get them from the phone," Essey said.​

 

Christian Post: Teacher Facing Statutory Rape Charges Avoids Trial by Marrying Victim (Jan 23 2013)

Leah Gayle Shipman, 42, was charged with statutory rape and faced a trial but avoided the courtroom by marrying her 17-year-old victim. The marriage prevented her husband, the victim, from testifying at the trial. Shipman was arrested in 2009 on charges of having an inappropriate relationship with a student. Two years later she divorced her husband of 19 years and, only six days later, married her student, Johnnie Ray Ison. Because he was only 17, Ison had to have his mother sign the paperwork for him to get married, StarNewsOnline reported. Ison had already told police about his relationship with Shipman two years prior, but Assistant District Attorney Gina Essey said his claims were made "inadmissible" if he didn't testify. The marriage prevented that from happening, and the state's case was lessened against Shipman, CBS noted. North Carolina law prevents spouses from being forced to testify against the defendants in criminal cases.​

 

Not removing this one from public view.