According to the Glenwood Springs Post Independent, Redfern and the student, who's now eighteen, are thought to have been involved in a sexual relationship for three or four months. They reportedly trysted at her home or his, not at the school. Conveniently, they live near each other in the community of El Jebel.
As noted by the paper, Colorado law says that a seventeen-year-old can have a consensual sexual relationship with an adult so long as the latter isn't considered someone in a position of trust. Like, for instance, a teacher.
Right now, Redfern is on paid leave from Basalt High, with the school reserving the right to take further action. She was scheduled to turn herself in to the Eagle County Detention Facility no later than this morning.
During recent years, there have been no shortage of male coaches at high schools who have been accused and/or convicted of having sex with students in their charge. Think of Broomfield High School wrestling coach Travis Masse, Longmont High School karate club overseer Alex Tinsley and Alameda High School basketball coach Wes Specht, a semi-pro player nicknamed "Wild Man."
Likewise, female teachers have gotten into trouble for crossing the line with students -- among them ex-Mountain View High School instructor Courtney Bowles, Englewood High School's Alexandra McLean and Hilltop Baptist Schools' Terah Rawlings, whose father and uncle, both school officials, were accused of knowing about her illicit activities with a fifteen-year-old but failing to tell authorities about it.
However, Redfern is the first female coach in recent memory to face such a charge. Hard to imagine it's a distinction she covets.
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More from our Colorado Crimes archive: "Alexandra McLean tops list of five notorious teacher-student sex crimes."
