HARTVILLE, Mo. -- A former kindergarten teacher pleaded guilty last week for having sexual contact with a high school student who was a tutor in her classroom. In return for the guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop a charge against Katherine Hicks of Niangua of furnishing pornography to a minor. A judge placed Hicks, 39, on three years probation, ordered her to complete a state sexual offender program and to have no contact with the student.

An investigation of Hicks started in March after the student’s mother complained to city police that she’d heard of an inappropriate relationship between her son and Hicks. Hicks was charged on March 19.

In the probable cause statement used as the basis of charges, the detective says the 17-year-old student says he and Hicks had a personal relationship that included kissing, him touching her breast, her touching his rear, and an exchange of nude pictures and "dirty messages" via cellular telephones.

The student was in her classroom to be a tutor for the A+ Program, which requires high school students to tutor other students as one requirement to be eligible for a community college scholarship.

To read the probable cause statement and charges against Hicks, click here.

Hicks is no longer employed at Hartville Elementary School. The Web site of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education indicates an investigation is underway to determine whether she should retain her state teaching license. She holds a permanent (99-year) Early Childhood Education certificate.