A former Lexington Trails Middle School paraprofessional will spend three years on probation for having sex with a student.
On Wednesday in Johnson County District Court, Kassidy Alexander was sentenced to 36 months of probation and having to register as a sex offender for 25 years. If she violates the terms of her probation, she will serve 34 months in prison.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Jacquelyn E. Rokusek.
Between July 25, 2023, and March 19, 2024, Alexander had consensual sexual intercourse with a student at least 16 years old at the school, a criminal complaint stated.
Alexander was a paraprofessional at the middle school, which is part of USD 232 in De Soto.
The victim’s family spoke of damage the crimes caused
The victim’s mother and father spoke at the hearing about how Alexander’s actions hurt their son. The Post is declining to use the parents’ names to protect the victim’s anonymity.
The victim met Alexander when he was in eighth grade, as she was his cross-country coach, according to court documents. When he became a high school student, he would also babysit her children.
In summer 2023, their relationship turned from friendly to sexual, and they engaged in sex multiple times between July 2023 and March 2024, court documents stated. At the time, Alexander was 26 and the victim was 17. During this time, Alexander’s husband was deployed.
In May, the victim’s parents were getting suspicious of their son’s behavior, as he was sneaking over to her house at night and lying about what he was doing, according to court records. Eventually, he admitted they were having a sexual relationship.
Before Alexander was sentenced, the victim’s mother and father both spoke of the effect her actions had on their family.
“Mrs. Alexander first met our son, who was a prepubescent middle school child, to groom and manipulate that relationship into a sexual relationship is inexcusable and illegal,” the victim’s father said. “It is my expectation as a parent that when my child goes to school, their safety is not (only) responsible of only direct teachers and coaches, but every employee who steps on district property. Our son made terrible personal and financial decisions as a direct result of his relationship with Mrs. Alexander, which he and our family are still working through.”
Alexander’s were a “deliberate abuse of power” and caused damage to their family and the USD 232 community that “can’t be undone,” the victim’s mother said.
“This wasn’t just a betrayal of one child. It was a betrayal of every parent who trusted the district to protect their children,” she said. “We send our kids to school believing they will be safe, but the adults there will model integrity, respect and kindness. Mrs. Alexander shattered that trust, not just for my child but our entire community.”
In a previous statement, USD 232’s district administration said staff were made aware of the inappropriate relationship between Alexander and a male high school student in May 2025 and made immediate action on it.
“Based on this information, the school district acted immediately to protect and care for those involved by suspending the employee in question,” the district stated in a press release. “Upon being suspended, the individual immediately resigned their employment.”
Alexander worked out a plea agreement
The sentence was part of a plea agreement that resulted in two other counts of unlawful sexual relations to be dismissed, according to a Johnson County court document. Alexander pleaded guilty to the felony in September.
During the sentencing, Christopher Brown, Alexander’s attorney, asked for her to be given probation because she had no criminal history, completed rehabilitation and has a support system in her husband and family.
“Ms. Alexander, understandably so, is facing (these) consequences (including) whatever public humiliation she suffered, but more importantly, she has to register as an offender,” he said. “She will never be able to expunge this offense. She will be a felon for the rest of her life, unless some type of law changes, and I would submit to you those are very significant consequences.”
Later, Judge Rokusek countered Brown’s statement that public humiliation is not factored when the court considers a sentence.
“Public humiliation is not a goal of the court and I’m quite certain you’re living with that, just like all of us live with any sort of consequences for our behavior,” she said. “Registration is also very serious because it does change the trajectory of your life and what you can do with your life. But that’s not a concern of the court.”
She added: “The court determines whether or not to grant you a (dispositional) departure in this case or opt to send you to prison.”
Alexader’s actions after being charged helped avoid prison time
When considering the sentence, Judge Rokusek noted the harm that Alexander caused.
“This is a serious offense, and it’s an offense that has caused harm, not only to the victim, but to the victim’s family, the extended family. Obviously, these offenses don’t stop with the person who’s victimized. It affects the entire family. In this, (it affected) the entire community,” she said.
Several actions Alexander took after being charged helped her case for probation, including taking responsibility by pleading guilty, waiving her Constitutional right to a preliminary hearing or trial and seeking rehabilitation.
“You did enter a plea without requiring the victim in this case to come forth and have to testify, which would be a form of public humiliation … That is a difficult thing for anyone to do, to come into court and relive something like this,” Rokusek said.
Alexander’s probation includes registering as a sex offender for 25 years, having no contact with the victim, his family or either of their places of employment, no contact with anyone under the age of 18 unless it’s supervised by an approved adult, not being allowed to consume alcohol or controlled substances and not being allowed to own a firearm.
Alexander will also have to continue to seek treatment, Rokusek added.
“Something was going on with you (that would) explain how you ended up sitting here today when you obviously had a husband who loves you, a family. You risked everything, so you did need treatment. But I don’t believe a couple months of treatment (was) sufficient,” she said.
If Alexander violates any of those agreed conditions, Rokusek warned, then there will be additional consequences.
“If you even consider doing something in violation of your probation, there’s one door and it’s the door to prison,” she said.
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