Female Teacher Charged with Sexual Assault of Female Student

Here's another story about a female teacher who is accused of sexually assaulting a student -- this time it's a girl who's the victim of the woman's advances.

"A popular French teacher at Streetsville Secondary School in Mississauga has been charged with the sexual exploitation and sexual assault of a student, police say.

Leslie Merlino, 36, was friends with the alleged victim before the incident, Peel Regional Police Constable Craig Platt said last night. She taught the 17-year-old girl in the previous school year and they had met outside the school and corresponded on-line, Constable Platt said.

Investigators contend that some of the on-line messages were sexually explicit. And this month, they say, the girl and her family approached police to complain that Ms. Merlino had acted inappropriately."