Mississippi physics teacher, 38, is arrested over relationship with 17-year-old student that saw them have sex in his car and at house he shared with his wife and young child: Pair planned to elope to Louisiana

A physics teacher in Mississippi is free on bond despite a detective's testimony that he was plotting to elope with a female student. 

James Hawkins, 38, was taken into custody last week on charges of sexual battery after a student at Ocean Springs High School came forward to allege that she had a relationship with the physics teacher that began in the spring of 2023. 

The student alleged that the pair had sex in a variety of places, including in the home where he lived with his wife and young child, as well as in the parking lot of a local Walmart. 

On Tuesday, Jackson County Sheriff's Captain Kristen Johnson testified that Hawkins admitted to the offenses. He told officers that the relationship began when the girl was having a hard time at school. 

'The victim said that it began in the springtime of 2023 before the last school year ended. According to Mr. Hawkins, he admitted they had sex approximately one time a month, including at his house and in her car,' Johnson said. 

Physics teacher James Hawkins, 38, began teaching at Ocean Springs High School in 2022, he was fired on the day of his arrest last week

On Tuesday, Hawkins made a second appearance in court where he was given a $150,000 bond and told avoid the student 

Officials at Ocean Springs High School have said that they will work with officers in the case 

In her testimony, Johnson dropped another bombshell, that Hawkins said that he was plotting to elope to Louisiana with the minor because the pair's relationship was developing faster than expected. 

Prosecutors tried to use Johnson's testimony to keep Hawkins behind bars but the judge set a bond of $150,000 which the educator posted and was released. Hawkins is ordered not to have any contact with the student. 

'If you happen to bump into her in public you need to leave that place immediately,' Judge Calvin Taylor told Hawkins.  

The case is due to go before a grand jury. Investigators have also said that more charges could follow in the case. Police were initially contacted regarding the case by the victim's parents. 

During his initial appearance in court, on December 1, Hawkins said that he was not a 'flight risk' and that he didn't know his actions were a 'felony-type crime.' 

Hawkins had been arrested the day before, the same day that he was fired from his job as a result of the allegations. 

According to his LinkedIn page, Hawkins has been teaching at Ocean Springs since July 2022. 

The suspect studied physics at Mississippi State University, working as a professor's assistant physics lab graduate teaching assistant during his time at the school.