A teacher who had sex with a 16-year-old student has dodged jail after she blamed "personal trauma" for "clouding her judgement" in the assault.

Madeleine Ruth Schmaltz, 30, a former science teacher at Hermantown Middle School in Minnesota, was found to have had sex with a student after a concerned mum became aware of the relationship.

She overheard her son, who said he was having a conversation that sounded "sexual in nature," and then checked through his phone records.

The mum discovered the number to be linked with Schmaltz and reported the relationship to police, who found Schmaltz had also given the teen gifts.

In the complaint, the teacher "admitted to sexual touching of the victim on the victim's intimate parts and to having the victim touch her on her intimate parts," the Duluth News Tribune reported.

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Schmaltz apologised for the incidents, and during a virtual hearing blamed her actions on "personal traumatic experiences".

She said: "During the spring of 2019, I was going through personal traumatic experiences that did cloud my judgment.

"Since then, I've been working through those experiences, along with just trying to better myself, and I will continue to do so.

"I know that my clouded judgment has harmed the victim and the victim's family, and for that, I am truly sorry."

The former teacher managed to avoid a jail sentence for her crimes and instead faces three years of supervised probation.

According to The Duluth News, Schmaltz must also register as a predatory offender.

She is also not allowed to have unapproved contact with anyone younger than 18 in addition to other conditions.

If Schmaltz completes her probation, she will be granted a stay of imposition, and her felony charged will be deemed a misdemeanour.

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