Inside the twisted minds of female teacher pedos: Sex predator expert reveals what drives these seemingly harmless women - and the disturbing warning signs all parents must look out for

Stacy Kaiser is a licenced, practicing psychotherapist and expert in criminal psychology

If I hadn't been inside a California state jail, I wouldn't have thought twice about the two women in front of me.

They were former teachers.

One was 40 years old and married.

The other was 29 and single.

Both were attractive, respectful and articulate - seemingly the portraits of devoted educators whom any parent would gladly find at the head of a classroom.

Except, I knew the truth.

They were convicted sex predators.

Two decades ago, in my role as a state-licensed therapist, I counseled women who were jailed for sex offenses against minors and ordered to undergo psychological treatment as part of their sentence.

Those sessions gave me an insight into the minds of perpetrators that still informs my work with abuse victims to this day.

And now, as a new DailyMail.com investigation has revealed that at least 25 female teachers across 16 states have been arrested for sex crimes in the last year, I think back to those sessions.

A new DailyMail.com investigation has revealed that at least 25 female teachers across 16 states have been arrested for sex crimes in the last year, I think back to those sessions.

I know how devastating the psychological damage wrought by sex abuse is – and how deceptive and remorseless these female predators can be.

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

The typical physical profile of a female sex predator is a caucasian woman in her 30s, according to new research.

In March, a married New Jersey teacher Jessica Sawicki, 37, was arrested after cops reportedly found her half-naked in the back seat of a teenager's car parked in a secluded wildlife center.

The mother-of-two allegedly admitted to police that she and the student had 'unprotected' sex at least five times.

Also last month, Tennessee fourth-grade teacher Alissa McCommon, 38, pleaded not guilty to 23 sex charges.

Police initially charged her with the rape of a 12-year-old boy. Authorities now believe there may be up to 21 additional victims.

The public is often shocked by the non-threatening appearance of these women.

But presenting to the world as 'ordinary' or even an exemplary example of an adult role model is a tactic offenders use to ingratiate themselves with a community and fool their victims into a false 'sense of safety.'

In 2023, Tracy Vanderhulst, 38, a math teacher at Yucaipa High School in California was arrested and charged with statutory rape after police said that she had sex with a 16-year-old student.

Hailey Nichelle Clifton-Carmack (mugshot, above left), a 26-year-old Missouri math teacher, was arrested in January for allegedly having sex with a student. Her social media accounts were filled with such sultry snaps (above, right). 

Rikki Lynn Laughlin, 24, posing with her husband Grant Laughlin. Laughlin was charged with second-degree statutory rape, possession of child pornography, tampering with a victim, sexual exploitation of a minor, tampering with physical evidence, furnishing pornographic material to a minor and second-degree child sex trafficking in December 2023

Only years earlier, Vanderhulst had been named the school's 'teacher of the year.'

One of the women that I worked with confessed to me that she prided herself on being 'sensitive and caring' because she knew that would make young males 'feel safe.'

When I challenged her by informing her that she was harming these individuals, she replied, 'it never felt that way to me.'

Another predatory practice is the luring of victims with sexually suggestive or outright pornographic posts on social media or in private digital communications.

Hailey Nichelle Clifton-Carmack, a 26-year-old Missouri math teacher, was arrested in January for allegedly having sex with a student. Her social media accounts were filled with such sultry snaps.

I have spoken to victims in recent years who have told me that they were excited by seeing their teachers in provocative poses. The private access to these images gave them the feeling of a 'special connection' to an authority figure, which also made them fearful that their teacher would get 'mad at them' if they didn't continue the relationships.

Of course, female sex offenders are not exclusively white or between the ages of 30- and 40-years-old – nor do they only target males.

Stephanie Woods, 28, an African-American biology teacher and coach from San Antonio, Texas was arrested in May after she allegedly had an improper relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

(Left) Stephanie Woods, 28, an African-American biology teacher and coach from San Antonio, Texas was arrested in May after she allegedly had an improper relationship with a 17-year-old girl. (Right) Nebraska woman Erin Ward was allegedly caught naked in the backseat of her husband's car with a 17-year-old high school boy

Tennessee fourth-grade teacher Alissa McCommon (above, left) pleaded not guilty to 23 sex charges in March. Police initially charged her with the rape of a 12-year-old boy. Authorities now believe there may be up to 21 additional victims.  (Above, right) McCommon's arrest at her TN home

Forty-five-year-old Nebraska woman Erin Ward was allegedly caught naked in the backseat of her husband's car with a 17-year-old high school boy in April. Ward – a mother of three and wife to a Harvard-educated, high-ranking Defense Department employee – was a substitute teacher at the victim's schools.

Beyond appearances, the most common feature of a typical female sex offender profile is a deep-seated personality disorder.

PSYCH PROFILE OF A PREDATOR

The women I counseled told me that they felt 'real connections' with the boys they targeted.

Some offenders claim to 'fall in love' with their victims and even purport to be 'dating' them.

That's nothing more than delusional thinking - a way to justify breaking the law and traumatizing a vulnerable person.

An adult cannot have a meaningful or mature relationship with a minor, as children and teens do not have fully developed brains - and victims are influenced by fear, coercion and deceit.

Often these female perpetrators were victims of sexual abuse or significant trauma themselves during childhood.

The most infamous case of a female teacher abusing a boy was that of Mary Kay Letourneau.

Letourneau, a teacher at Shorewood Elementary School in the Seattle suburb of Burien, was 34 and married with four children when she started a sexual relationship with her 12-year-old student Vili Fualaau.

The most infamous case of a female teacher abusing a boy was that of Mary Kay Letourneau. 

Letourneau, a teacher at Shorewood Elementary School in the Seattle suburb of Burien, was 34 and married with four children when she started a sexual relationship with her 12-year-old student Vili Fualaau.

Letourneau was convicted of rape and served 3 months in prison. She and Vili Fualaau had two children together, eventually married and then divorced

Letourneau was convicted of rape and served 3 months in prison. After her release, she violated her parole to seek out Fualaau yet again. For that, she was thrown behind bars for seven and a half years.

Letourneau's father, John G. Schmitz, was a former Republican Congressman and political science professor at Santa Ana College. He was exposed for secretly fathering two children with a student when Letourneau was still a child herself.

The revelation shattered her family – and derailed her young life. Decades later a friend concluded that she had, 'ended up imitating her father.'

Crippled by their insecurities, these perpetrators seek relationships that enable them to manipulate others – giving them a sensation of control that they otherwise are incapable of achieving in their everyday lives.

The two women I counseled were utterly remorseless over their actions. Their only regret was not being able to continue their relationships.

The 40-year-old teacher, a shy married woman with children, complained that her husband worked a lot and traveled often.

The 29-year-old assistant teacher said she ping-ponged from one failed relationship to the next with men her age. But she observed that the boys in her school would look at her in ways she found flattering.

Ann Margaret Bacon (above), 24, told allegedly cops she had sex five times with an 18-year-old student in a hotel room in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota

In 2023, Tracy Vanderhulst (above), 38, a math teacher at Yucaipa High School in California was arrested and charged with statutory rape after police said that she had sex with a 16-year-old student. 

She claimed that they would flirt, which she took to be an invitation to pursue a relationship – and went as far as luring one boy to her car in the teacher's parking lot under the ruse that she needed help fixing something in her vehicle.

The predator's motivations are selfish, while the psychological harm to victims can be devastating.

It is long past time that society considered the sexual abuse of boys and male teens a crime as serious as any other sexual assault. But all too often injuries to male victims are overlooked and dismissed.

SEX ABUSE OF MALE VICTIMS IS NO JOKE

Fualaau's abuse at the hands of Letourneau was once the subject of Saturday Night Live gags.

'Miss Letourneau has been branded a sex offender, or as the kids refer to her, 'the greatest teacher of all time,' comedian Norm McDonald joked at the time.

Even today, these cases are seen by some as different than the sexual abuse of females.

Author Stacy Kaiser is a licenced, practicing psychotherapist and expert in criminal psychology

'Am I right to say it's an unfair comparison to do the female-to-male teacher? Like a male teacher, 38-year-old, creepy. Female, heroic,' said Fox News' Greg Gutfeld said on his program last month. 'I don't condone it,' he concluded. 'I just envy it.'

These attitudes are misguided – and hold the public back from addressing this dangerous subset of sex abuse.

For the victims, the psychological damage can manifest as depression, low self-esteem, anxiety and suicidal ideation. Victims may retreat from their friend groups and family and develop substance abuse issues.

After Fualaau eventually divorced Letourneau in 2017, he struggled. In 2002, he revealed that he suffered from suicidal depression and was being treated for alcohol abuse.

For all these reasons, parents must watch for dramatic changes in the behaviors of their children. While all teenagers exhibit mood swings – sudden negative changes such as excessive secret-keeping and social withdrawal is a cause for concern that must not be ignored.

Above all else, caregivers must be aware of any adult whom their child spends an inordinate amount of time with. 

It's to be expected for teachers and coaches to be in close contact with children during school hours and after-school activities – but anything beyond sanctioned events should be viewed cautiously.