
LAS VEGAS — Tanikka Queen, a former Las Vegas teacher that had a relationship with a 15-year-old student has cut a deal that will very likely net her a slap-on-the-wrist sentence of probation.
Queen, 22, had been working for the CCSD for over a year as a substitute teacher.
Her relationship with the 15-year-old boy, a student at Hyde Park Middle School, came to light after a concerned parent tipped authorities off.
Authorities found that Queen and the student exchanged thousands of text and picture messages and called each frequently. The student told his father he was seeing a girl named Bella.
Queen knew that the relationship was illegal and mentioned in the text messages to the student that she was placing herself in danger.
Las Vegas Attorney John Momot was able to hammer out a sweet deal for Queen because the court system has morphed into a “deal-making” system.
She faced over 40 charges related to her illegal and immoral acts but thanks to her attorney’s expertise and negotiation skills, Queen will plead guilty to just two felonies related to luring a child to engage in a sexual act and a sexual offense committed by a school employee.
It’s very apparent that male and female teacher who are sexual predators are treated very differently by the legal system, proving that the double standard still exists.
In Queen’s case because she is very young and pretty the judicial system does not seem to view her as a serious threat. In contrast another teacher, Melvyn Sprowson, who had a relationship with a girl in Nevada that was not a student of Sprowson’s and was legally able to consent to the relationship faces life in prison.
Tanikka Queen has been held at the CCDC. because she has been unable to make bail. Because so many of the charges against her have been dropped as part of the deal that was cut, her bail has been substantially reduced and is now set at $50,000.
If Queen does post bail she will be placed on House Arrest and barred from contact with anyone under 18 years old. She will also be barred from having Internet access.
Tanikka Queen is scheduled to appear in court on April 21. Although she faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison, she will very likely receive probation.