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Gwinnett County teacher charged with having inappropriate relationship with student
Julee Impara950
Julee Impara

GWINNETT COUNTY - A 48-year-old teacher is charged with sexual assault, accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student she first met on the first day of class at Mill Creek High School last fall.

According to the Gwinnett County Police Department, Julee Sams Impara was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail and was released Tuesday.

Reports indicate the student’s mother confronted Impara after she found several messages between the teacher and her son on his phone, and Impara reportedly did not deny the relationship.

According to the Gwinnett County Public Schools’ letter submitted to Paul Shaw, director of educator ethics for the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the parents told Impara if she would resign before Thanksgiving break and not have further contact with their son, they would not report her conduct.

When she returned to the classroom after the holiday break, the school was notified and provided copies of texts and letters exchanged, which was considered evidence of the relationship.

According to police, a detective in the Special Victim’s Unit was contacted Jan. 15 about the relationship. However, an internal investigation was launched Dec. 9, 2015, the day Impara submitted her letter of resignation.

The Gwinnett County Department of Family and Children Services was also notified by Gwinnett County Public Schools, according to Sloan Roach, executive director of communication and media relations for the district.

The victim told investigators it was not uncommon for the teacher to give out her personal cellphone number to her students, who were encouraged to contact her if they had any issues.

According to the victim, he and the teacher began having sexual contact outside of school and she had picked up the victim at his home on occasion, police reported.

Impara joined Gwinnett County Public Schools in 2008, teaching English/Latin, and had been previously an adjunct professor at Gwinnett Tech. Impara was tied for STAR Teacher honors at Mill Creek in 2014-15.