A former Kansas teacher is headed to trial over allegations that she engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a student, including multiple s£xual encounters in the back seat of her Jeep.
Nicole Hernandez, 30, also known as Nikki Baird, was arrested in May on four felony counts for unlawful relations with a 17-year-old boy, which allegedly began while he was a sophomore at Wichita North High School, according to KSNW News.
The arrest affidavit, obtained by the outlet, alleges that Baird gradually groomed, manipulated, and ‘isolated’ the student from friends and family before the relationship turned s£xual in early 2024.
According to the affidavit, Baird admitted she had ‘crossed boundaries’ and told Murray that it was nothing more than an emotional relationship that began after the student graduated.
Court records have also revealed that all the alleged conduct occurred before he graduated, according to the outlet.
The student, now an adult, told detectives that Baird had been his middle school art teacher before later becoming his high school art teacher.
The arrest report detailed several accusations of Baird grooming the victim during his sophomore, junior, and senior years, starting with private interactions in the classroom.
‘He described how she befriended him, then isolated him from others,’ the documents read, as reported by The Wichita Eagle.
The affidavit revealed that private meetings in Baird’s classroom before and after school hours allegedly snowballed into physical contact by the student’s junior year.
Baird allegedly began touching or rubbing the teen’s back or shoulders and asking for or in some cases, insisting on hugs.
The alleged misconduct allegedly moved off campus when Baird gave the 17-year-old boy her phone number, leading to texts about school-related matters.
Messages soon turned personal, with one exchange in which the teacher allegedly confided to the teen that her marriage was struggling, according to court records.
Texts then developed into written notes, many allegedly revealing Baird’s romantic interest in the student.
According to the affidavit, one letter read: ‘I hope and pray one day I get the chance to be with you.’ In another, Baird allegedly wrote: ‘I know that I love you.’
