DOCUMENT: Celebrity, Crime

Cops: Former Miss Kentucky Sent Boy Nudes

Teen went to school where accused teaches

View Document

Miss Kentucky Busted

DECEMBER 7--A former Miss Kentucky who now works as a middle school teacher in West Virginia was arrested today and charged with sending topless photos of herself to a former student, who is now 15.

According to a criminal complaint, Ramsey Bearse used Snapchat to send the boy images of her “nude breast/chest area.” When confronted yesterday by police, Bearse, 28, reportedly confessed to sending the child four naked photos during the past several months.

The investigation of Bearse began this week when the boy’s mother contacted cops and reported that her son had “inappropriate photos” on his phone that were sent to him by Bearse, a teacher at Andrew Jackson Middle School in Cross Lanes, a Charleston suburb.

The recipient of the images had attended the middle school from sixth to eighth grade, “during which Ramsey Bearse was a teacher during some of that time,” the complaint notes.

Charged with distribution of obscene matter to a minor, Bearse made an initial appearance this afternoon in Magistrate Court in Kanawha County. She is now free on $1000 cash bond. If convicted of the felony count, Bearse faces a maximum of five years in state prison and a $25,000 fine.

Seen above, Bearse--then known as Ramsey Carpenter--was crowned Miss Kentucky in 2014 and subsequently competed in the Miss America pageant, where she made the semifinals.

Bearse is seen below in a mug shot and a pageant photo showing her playing the violin during a talent competition. (2 pages)