County's 3rd Female Teacher This Year To Face Sex Charges

For the third time this year, another female Laurens County teacher has been charged with sex crimes against children.

Karen Robbins, 49, was an elementary special education teacher for the private Thornwell Home for Children when the alleged incidents occurred. She was previously a teacher at Bell Street Middle School.

Robbins is facing multiple charges, including criminal sexual conduct with a minor and committing a lewd act upon a child, officials said.

Arrest warrants state the sex occurred with a 15-year-old in her car as well as twice at Robbins home. Police said the alleged abuse took place between September and November of 2005.
They said the incidents took place inside Robbins' car, in the Mill Pond Road area and at her home in Clinton.

Police believe the teen attended Thornwell, but was not a student of Robbins.

Robbins is being held at the Laurens County Detention Center.

She is the third Laurens County teacher to face sex charges involving minors this year.
Former Bell Street Middle School teacher Allena Ward was indicted in march on five counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

In June, former teacher Wendie Schweikert was ordered to serve ten years of a 20-year sentence after admitting having sex with an 11-year-old boy at school.

Clinton Public Safety Department Director John Thomas said, "It's one of those things that obviously keeps coming across law enforcement's desk. We want to make sure to ensure that our juveniles are taken care of."

"We're just making sure we're doing the right things and hopefully if they are out there and they need to be reported, we're going to look into them," Thomas said.