Teacher charged after students pierce ear, stomach in class

April Beard, a high school teacher in Pennsylvania, allegedly allowed a student to pierce Beard's ear and then another student's stomach -- in class.

Beard, 34, was charged with endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors, police said. Court records show she also was charged with body piercing of a minor.

According to Carroll Township Police, on April 16, Beard took a "handful" of students into a project room, and left the rest of the students in the classroom. Chief Sean Kapfhammer said a student with a piercing kit was then allowed to pierce Beard's left ear three times and then pierce another student's belly button.

Police said Beard paid the student $20 and gave her a homemade necklace as payment for the piercings. Beard then told the students, "What just happen(ed) here does not leave the room," according to charging documents.

"Obviously, it's a big concern," when there is a risk of transferable diseases, Kapfhammer said. Anytime blood is involved, schools also have to follow special protocols.

The Northern York County School District issued a statement Monday saying administrators were made aware of the alleged piercing moments afterwards, and that Beard, a family and consumer science teacher, did not return to the classroom.

Robert Daniels, Beard's attorney, said she resigned her position over the incident on May 16, and recognizes a "lapse of judgement," he said, adding that she lost "a career that she loved."

"At the time, she had no idea it was illegal to be pierced by a student," Daniels said.