‘Bong teacher’ filmed smoking with teens admits to supplying students with drugs
- Physics teacher Lauren Russell has pleaded guilty to supplying drugs to students
- Russell, 42, had previously pleaded not guilty but charged her plea Wednesday
- Her lawyer will ask the court in July to drop the charges under Mental Health Act
- After arrest in February, video showed Russell ‘smoking a bong’ with students
An American-born teacher working in Sydney has pleaded guilty to supplying drugs to her students after a video appeared to show her smoking from a Gatorade bottle.
Lauren Russell, 42, has pleaded guilty to one count of illegal drug supply between on December 15, 2021.
She was arrested at her Beverly Hills, southwest Sydney, home in February over allegations she supplied cannabis to her students at Lucas Heights Community School in the Sutherland Shire, southern Sydney.
Physics teacher Lauren Russell, 42, has pleaded guilty to one count of illegal drug supply to her students
A video emerged of Russell days after her February arrest that appeared to show her smoking a from a homemade bong while surrounded by students
Russell had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge and was set to face court in June but appeared at Sutherland Local Court Wednesday and pleaded guilty with her partner by her side.
She will face court again on July 13 for a hearing where her lawyer, Timothy Roberts, will seek dismissal of the charges under Section 14 of the Mental Health Act.
If successful the charges against Russell would be dropped and she would be released into the care of a responsible person to seek treatment or rehabilitation.
A close friend previously told Daily Mail Australia that Russell had ‘no idea’ she was being filmed with the bong and believes the charges are ‘unfair’
If unsuccessful she will face charges under criminal law.
Just days after she was arrested, a video emerged that appeared to show Russell smoking a bong while sitting on a milk crate and surrounding by student’s near Menai Skate Park, just 3km from the school.
The homemade bong appears to be made from a Gatorade bottle and a piece of garden hose.
Russell transferred from southwest Sydney’s Canley Vale High School to Lucas Heights Community School in 2014 where she worked as a physics teacher
A close friend previously told Daily Mail Australia that Russell had ‘no idea’ she was being filmed and believes the charges are ‘unfair’.
She has not been charged for any actions in the video.
The mother-of-three was born in Maryland, US, and studied biology while part of a fraternity at Drexel University, Philadelphia.
She transferred from southwest Sydney’s Canley Vale High School to Lucas Heights Community School in 2014 where she worked as a physics teacher.
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