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Ms Bynum was charged under a law that states:
Rebecca Green Thomason – Attorney at Law
A case in Franklin County made national news. Kimberly Bynum was charged with being a school employee engaging in a sexual act with a student under the age of 19 years.
When I started practicing law almost 30 years ago all sex crimes began “when a male engages in a sexual act with a female”. The only way a female could be guilty of rape was if she helped a male in raping another female. 
This has changed and now women can be convicted of rape, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment of a male.
This has changed and now women can be convicted of rape, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment of a male.In 2004, the United States Department of Education reported that 40 percent of perpetrators of sexual acts toward children were women and that number has steadily risen over the years.
Ms Bynum was charged under a law that states:A School employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of 19 years.
(a) A person commits the crime of a school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of 19 years if he or she is a school employee and engages in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student, regardless of whether the student is male or female. Consent is not a defense to a charge under this section.
(b) As used in this section, sex act means sexual intercourse with any penetration, however slight; emission is not required.
(c) As used in this section, deviant sexual intercourse means any act of sexual gratification between persons not married to each other involving the sex organs of one person and the mouth or anus of another.
(d) The crime of a school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student is a Class B felony.
A Class B felony carries a punishment of from two to twenty years in the state penitentiary and a fine of up to $30,000.
The law is interesting because it makes it a crime only for a school employee to have sex with a person aged 16 to 19 years. The age of consent is 16 in Alabama. Any non relative may legally engage in sexual activity with this age group unless they are employed by a school.
As the law is worded, a school employee may not date a minor. An eighteen year old college student is off limits even if they have never attended the school where the accused is employed. However, it is perfectly legal for a 60 year old to engage in a consensual sexual act with a 16 year old as long as they do not work for a school.
The case against Ms Bynum was dropped. The student’s parents, the superintendent of Franklin County Schools, and the office that investigated the case signed the agreement to dismiss this case. The student is now married to Ms Bynum. As her husband he can not be forced to testify against her.
