Rachel Elizabeth Whiteside, 34, of Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa, United States is a teacher at Northview Middle School and an assistant varsity softball coach at Ankeny Centennial High School in the Ankeny Community School District in Polk County.
In 2015, Whiteside allegedly started an inappropriate relationship with a Northview Middle School student, then 14. Between 2015 and 2018, she was allegedly engaged in sexual conduct with the student on many occasions after school hours in her classroom and in her car in parking lots outside of the school.
According to the victim, they broke ties with Whiteside in 2023. Recently, the victim reported their relationship to the school district, which immediately placed her on administrative leave.
School investigators searched Whiteside’s school laptop and found numerous emails her and the victim. On January 14, 2022, she wrote “Happy Anniversary” in an email she sent the victim.
On February 21, 2024, Whiteside turned herself in at the Ankeny Police Department and was booked into Polk County Jail in Des Moines, Polk County. She was charged with lascivious conduct with a minor, third-degree sexual abuse and four counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee.
Bond for Whiteside was set at $100,000. On March 1, 2024, she will have her first hearing.
CONAN Daily 