A former Wellston teacher faces two felony counts stemming from a sexual relationship he reportedly had with a female student while he was employed by the Wellston Public Schools.
Robert Doyle Blankenship, 42, whose address in court documents is listed as 1007 Lalicker in Wellston, faces one count each of sexual battery and blackmail.
The charges were filed Wednesday, Feb. 26, in Lincoln County District Court. A $10,000 bond was set and an initial appearance was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on March 12.
Neal Davis, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office, said Blankenship was arrested last Wednesday, Feb. 26, by DA investigators. Davis said Blankenship was arrested at the Star Spencer Public Schools where he is currently employed.
He said the defendant has already posted bond and is out of the Lincoln County Jail in Chandler.
The sexual battery charge accuses Blankenship of touching the female student in a lewd and lascivious manner from about Oct. 1, 2018 to May of 2019. The charge states the student was 17 at the time this began and that she turned 18 and was a student of Blankenship’s. It alleges the contacts occurred at the Wellston public schools.
The blackmail count alleges during the same time frame as the sexual battery count claims took place, Blankenship intentionally, willfully and wrongfully threatened to expose certain information about the student which would subject her to the ridicule or contempt of society.
“Such threats of exposure occurred in Wellston,” the charge reads.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed with the court, Blankenship was employed as a teacher or person of authority within the Wellston School District when the allegations occurred.
The affidavit further states the student was a minor child and a student at Wellston who regularly attended classes at the school and who turned 18 on or about the month of October 2018.
It claims Blankenship began to cultivate a personal relationship with the student after she had experienced a traumatic event in her life and she began to confide in Blankenship during her junior year of high school.
“As the personal relationship grew and at the approximately time of Christmas 2018, Doyle (Blankenship) as he was known, began a physical relationship with the student, touching her body while in a locked classroom on Wellston school grounds,” the affidavit reads.
The affidavit describes other activity that allegedly took place.
It claims, “At some point during the relationship a disagreement took place leading to Doyle telling the student that should she ever tell anyone of the relationship he would expose her previously mentioned traumatic event to everyone.”