Former Washington High School teacher arrested

UPDATE: A former Cedar Rapids Washington High School teacher has been arrested after police said she was caught having sex with a student.

On Thursday, Cedar Rapids police arrested Heather Adams, 41, on a charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee. Adams was a chemistry teacher at Washington until resigning her position for personal reasons on Monday.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin, a Cedar Rapids police spokesperson, confirmed the arrest Thursday night and gave some details of the incident. “We were notified on Sunday, May 6 at 9:30 in the evening there was a suspicious vehicle over in the 300 block of 28th Street Drive SE,” Hamblin said.

Hamblin said officers arrived to find Adams and an 18-year-old male in the car. “Through the investigation, they found she is a teacher at Washington High School,” said Sgt. Hamblin, “and again, through investigation, discovered they were having sex in the vehicle.”

Police say normally, this would be considered a legal sex act, because the male student is 18 years old. However, Adams' status as a high school teacher makes the sexual act a crime.

“I hope the public would never view it as something reflective on the high school,” Hamblin said. “This happens at the best high schools in the country, and the worst high schools in the country.”

Hamblin also stressed that the incident did not take place on school property.

The charge is a misdemeanor, but if convicted, Adams would be listed on the Iowa sex offender registry for 10 years.