Former Fresno middle school teacher testifies she was pressured into giving student oral sex

Article here. Excerpt:

'Former Tenaya Middle School teacher Justine Karen Nelson knew that her relationship with a student was wrong. But she said what began as simple flirting quickly turned to coercion and sexual contact.

Nelson, who is charged with felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor and oral copulation, testified Wednesday that she fell prey to the attention and kind words of one of her students.

Their friendship began innocently enough with talks in her classroom. That soon progressed to direct messages on Instagram and later to much more secretive text messages. At first, they talked about routine things, like basketball and school. And then it became more personal.

Nelson acknowledged having trouble with her marriage during this period in 2016. She and her husband, who was a physical education teacher at Tenaya, would argue often, even at school and in front of students. Nelson said she appreciated the student’s friendship. Early on, she even sent him a photo of herself at a bachelorette party.'