Police say former Idaho teacher had sex with teen student

A former high school teacher in Idaho has been charged with a felony after her student told a counselor that they had sex.

The Bonner County Daily Bee reports that 48-year-old Nichole Thiel of Coeur d’Alene is charged with sexual battery of a minor between the ages of 16 and 17 and is due in court March 1.

Sandpoint Police say Thiel had sex with a male student at a condominium in Sandpoint in December 2015, when she was 46 and the student was 16. The teen told investigators that he began communicating with Thiel on social media before the sexual encounter.

Thiel was the teen’s culinary arts teacher at Lake Pend Oreille High School.

Thiel declined to be questioned by police. Her attorney, Michael G. Palmer, said Wednesday he can’t comment on the matter.

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Information from: Bonner County (Idaho) Daily Bee, http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com