St. Martinville – A former fifth-grade teacher was arrested recently on charges of having an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile, and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation arrested a Breaux Bridge woman on related charges.
Sheriff Becket Breaux said that on Jan. 28, the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation following a complaint that a former fifthgrade teacher, identified as Marisa Noel, 31, was having an inappropriate relationship with one of her former students.
At the time of the offense, Noel was employed at Teche Elementary School. Du r i n g the investigation, detectives determined there was probable cause to arrest Noel on the following charges:
• La. R.S. 14:81, Indecent Behavior with Juveniles (4 counts)
• La. R.S. 14:81.3, Computer- Aided Solicitation of a Minor (4 counts) In addition to Noel’s previous charges, she now faces charges after the ongoing investigation identified an additional victim, The new charges include: • La. R.S. 14:81, Indecent Behavior with Juveniles (10 counts)
M. Noel
C. Burleigh
Juveniles
• La. R.S. 14:42, First Degree Rape (1 count)
• La. R.S. 14:81.1, Child Sexual Abuse Materials (2 counts)
• La. R.S. 14:285, Unlawful Communications; Telephones and Telecommunications Devices; Improper Language; Harassment; Penalty (1 count)
• La. R.S. 14:81.3, Computer- aided Solicitation of a Minor (3 counts) At the time of the offense, Noel was employed at Teche Elementary School.
Noel remains incarcerated at the St. Martin Parish Correctional Center, and bond has not been set on the most recent charges. For her previous charges, her bond was set at $750,000. Attorney General Liz Murrill’s Louisiana Bureau of Investigation arrested 37-year-old Cortney Burleigh of Breaux Bridge on April 16 as part of an ongoing joint investigation with the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Burleigh was arrested on the following charges:
• 1 Count of 14:93 Cruelty to Juveniles -- (Felony); • 1 Count of 14:81/14:25 -- Indecent Behavior with Juveniles/Accessory after the Fact -- (Felony);
• 1 Count of 14:130.1 Obstruction of Justice (Felony).
The Louisiana Bureau of Investigation was assisting the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office in the investigation of the former fifth-grade teacher at Teche Elementary School, Marisa Noel.
During the course of the continued investigation, additional crimes were discovered which led to the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office rearresting Noel on additional charges.
That’s when the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation arrested Burleigh on these charges for her involvement in the crime. Burleigh was not a teacher at the school.
Burleigh’s arrest is the result of an ongoing joint investigation between the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations involving the sexual abuse of a child under the age of thirteen years old.
Burleigh was booked into the St. Martin Parish Jail.
“We will continue to support our partners across the State and bring to justice anyone who exploits or sexually abuses the children of Louisiana,” Murrill said.
The joint investigation by the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office and the LBI is still ongoing.
