Idaho teacher accused of sex with student pleads not guilty

SANDPOINT – A former Idaho teacher accused of having sex with a student has pleaded not guilty.

The Bonner County Daily Bee reported 48-year-old Nichole Thiel, of Coeur d’Alene, pleaded not guilty on Monday and has a four-day jury trial scheduled for August. She was charged with sexual battery of a minor.

Thiel is not in jail while the case in pending.

Officials say Thiel had sex with a 16-year-old male student in 2015 while she was his culinary arts teacher at Lake Pend Oreille High School. The teen told the court that having sex with a teacher was on his bucket list. Thiel invoked her right to remain silent during a preliminary hearing in Bonner County Magistrate court in March

A pretrial hearing in the case is scheduled for July.