Turns out they were wrong. And while Oringdulph has resigned her position, she's technically able to get a job at another school in Colorado -- at this writing, anyhow.
Look below to get details and see more photos, including a larger look at the one seen here.
According to the Pueblo Chieftain, local police got involved after receiving a report of sexting between Oringdulph, 31, and a Pueblo South student.
Oringdulph reportedly told investigators that she'd been called on the carpet in September by her vice principal after the parent of the student in question stumbled upon text messages between the teacher and the young man in question.This communication went beyond mere text, as evidenced by an image obtained by KRDO-TV from a former Pueblo South student.
The source told the station that the photo had been making the rounds and pretty much everyone at the school had seen it by then.
Here's the pic, sections of which were blurred by KRDO:
Teacher Oringdulph is also said to have admitted kissing the student, too, yet no charges were brought against her owing to his age. He's seventeen -- the age of consent in Colorado.That doesn't mean Oringdulph did nothing wrong. However, her violations appear to be ethical in nature. As noted by the Chieftain, the written policy in Colorado District 60, which encompasses Pueblo South, includes a warning that "staff may not communicate with students through personal social media platforms or by texting without prior authorization from an appropriate administrator."
We're guessing Oringdulph didn't check with her superiors to make sure sending a nude selfie to a student was okay.
In addition, the policy says staffers "shall not engage in conduct that adversely affects their capacity to serve as a role model for students." Draw your own conclusions about that one.
Oringdulph no longer heads a Pueblo South classroom. She resigned earlier this month, and the school's principal, Aaron Bravo, doesn't seem overly interested in discussing the situation. KRDO notes that a reporter went to his home, but he refused to answer his door, and when she called him, he hung up on her.However, Oringdulph's teaching license is valid through 2017, and District 60 has taken no action to have it revoked, perhaps due to the wording of another district policy cited by the Chieftain. The regs call for the district's superintendent to give a heads-up to the Colorado Department of Education if "an employee resigns as a result of an allegation of unlawful behavior involving a child, including unlawful sexual behavior which is supported by a preponderance of evidence."
As pointed out above, Oringdulph's actions weren't unlawful in the view of local police, and her resignation may have lessened the interest of officials in finding another way to take action against her. But public opinion could force their hand.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
More from our Colorado Crimes archive circa January 2012: "Alexandra McLean tops list of five notorious teacher-student sex crimes."
