The Thai internet has caught wind that a teacher from a high school in America who was charged with sexual misconduct with a student is Thai.
Gaining traction in local Thai news this week but reported by Western news outlets since Thursday, a Seattle high school teacher named Pawares “Mac” Pathompornvivat was arrested on Feb. 17 for having sex with a 16-year-old student.
“I guess it’s in our DNA,” Chawalit Khum wrote in response to the news.
The underage girl reportedly told authorities that she was in a consensual sexual relationship with her 32-year-old teacher since the beginning of this month.
Court documents show that the pair had sex more than five times in the last two weeks, including in his car. He also reportedly drove the student to a department store to buy sex toys including handcuffs.
It was also reported they sent over 3,000 text messages to each other. One message read by the police was “You didn’t even do any work and got an A from me.”
Pawares, who was a science teacher at Seattle’s Franklin High School, was charged with two counts of first degree sexual misconduct with a minor and one count of communicating with a minor for illicit purposes. He is currently released on bail for USD100,000 (about THB3.4 million).
Investigators were also looking into allegations he told the girl that he had previously been in a sexual relationship with another student.
Pawares has been suspended from his duties and was on paid leave while free on a US$100,000 bond. He has been barred from coming into contact with students or their families and cannot enter any school buildings or participate in any school-related activities.
