A California student who left school, her family and her friends to live
with her teacher boyfriend has ended the relationship after the teacher
was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting another girl 14 years
ago.
"He called me from jail and yes, I told him that we're done," Jordan
Powers, 18, told ABC News in an exclusive interview. "I lost everything
for this guy. I lost my senior year. I gave up all my friends at high
school because they didn't agree with me."
James Hooker, 41, was arrested in Modesto, Calif., on Friday after
police discovered he had an an alleged sexual relationship with a
17-year-old student in 1998.
Hooker has been under investigation for his involvement with Powers, his
former business class student, with whom he appeared on national TV
programs earlier this year to profess his love.
Hooker was charged with one count of oral copulation with a minor and is in jail, according to a statement from Modesto police.
"He told me that he met her online and he hung out with her just as
friends and then he went to her house and she came out of the bathroom
naked and he only touched her boobs and her legs," Powers said. "He was
freaked out so he left and went home. He said nothing else happened, but
all of that was a lie."
Despite the charges, Powers said nothing happened romantically between her and Hooker prior to her 18th birthday.
The teen said she believed the woman came forward now to help her see
the truth about Hooker and rescue her from the relationship.
"My heart dropped. I felt betrayed. I just have a gut feeling there are other girls," Jordan Powers said.
Her mother, Tammie Powers, has publicly tried to end the romance from the beginning and expressed relief at Hooker's arrest.
"It's my contention all along that he used authority and that he's a predator," she said.
But a reconciliation between mother and daughter isn't happening just yet.
Jordan Powers said she is staying with a family friend in another state while she recovers from her heartbreak.
"How could he lie to me for all these months and look me in the eye and
tell me he loves me?" she said. "I don't know how someone could have
such a cold heart."
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