Grand jury indicts Meridian teacher accused of having sex with 13-year-old student

Ashley J. Beach, 37, is charged with lewd conduct and is set to enter a plea in her case Tuesday.

Beach, a teacher at Meridian Middle School, is accused of having sex with a 13-year-old student over the span of several months. She was indicted on three counts of felony lewd conduct with a child under the age of 16 by an Ada County grand jury Wednesday.

That means the grand jury found there was enough evidence of a crime to establish probable cause and send the case directly to District Court, where felony cases are tried. Grand jury proceedings are secret.

If Beach enters a not guilty plea to the charges, a jury trial date will be scheduled for later this winter.

Beach, who is married and has three children between the ages of 3 and 10, was released from the Ada County Jail on Sept. 22 after posting a $300,000 bond.

Meridian police arrested Beach on Sept. 17, shortly after getting a report of suspicious behavior near Cherry Lane and Vineyards Avenue.

That's where police found Beach and the boy lying in some bushes in the area, Meridian police spokesman Lt. Bob Stowe said.

Beach is charged with three counts of lewd conduct on two specific days -- July 22 and Sept. 17. Each count of lewd conduct is punishable by up to life in prison.

Ada County prosecutors say the boy was one of Beach's students -- and that Beach admitted to Meridian police that she had a sexual relationship with the boy that lasted over several months.

Prosecutors say that some sexual contact between the boy and Beach occurred at the school and that the pair exchanged pictures of their genitals through text messaging.

Eric Exline, spokesman for the Meridian School District, said in September Beach had been placed on paid administrative leave.

Beach has been with the district since 1995 and previously taught at Linder and Meridian elementary schools. She has been a sixth-grade teacher at Meridian Middle School for three years, Exline said.