St. James, Missouri teacher Rikki Lynn Laughlin arrested; Did she contact a boy via Snapchat?

Rikki Lynn Laughlin, 24, of Leadwood, St. Francois County, Missouri, United States is originally from Irondale, Washington County, Missouri. She and her husband Grant Andrew Laughlin, 23, have one daughter together.

Rikki is an alumna of Central Methodist University in Fayette, Howard County, Missouri. From 2019 to 2020, she was a preschool teacher’s assistant at East Missouri Action Agency (EMAA) Mid St. Francois County Head Start in Park Hills, St. Francois County.

In June 2022, Grand and Rikki got married. In August 2022, she gave birth to their daughter.

While employed as a special education teacher at St. James High School in St. James, Phelps County, Missouri, Rikki allegedly reached out to boy, 16, attending the school on Snapchat. According to him, she sent him pornographic videos of herself on the app and asked him to send her naked photos of himself.

While in a classroom at St. James High School, Rikki and the boy allegedly kissed. She allegedly tried to pressure him into sex, which made him uncomfortable so he made several excuses to meet her, he claimed.

On October 14, 2023, Rikki allegedly invited the boy to her house in Leadwood to have sex while Grant was out of town. On October 19, 2023, Phelps County Sheriff’s Office detectives informed Maries County Sheriff’s Office deputies about the boy’s allegations.

On October 20, 2023, investigators interviewed Rikki at her house in Leadwood. She denied the boy’s claims before admitting to contacting him on Snapchat.

Investigators confiscated Rikki’s cellphone and found three videos of her, which corroborated the boy’s allegations. She was arrested and booked into the Maries County Jail.

On October 23, 2023, Laughlin was released after posting a $100,000 bond. She was charged with possession of child pornography, tampering or attempting to tamper with a victim in a felony prosecution, tampering with physical evidence in a felon prosecution, sexual exploitation with a minor, second-degree statutory rape and second-degree sexual trafficking of a child under 18 years of age.