A woman and her husband have been fired from their teaching jobs in Arizona after students and colleagues discovered they had been filming adult content on school grounds for an OnlyFans account. Samantha Peer and her husband, Dillon Peer, taught in the Lake Havasu Unified School District.
The couple contends that the filming occurred after school hours and that no students were present. This was stilled deemed inappropriate by school district officials, who called for Samantha's resignation.
The couple began filming explicit content for extra money.
Samantha Peer posted a statement on her Facebook page on November 11 to tell her side of the story. She claimed that Arizona ranks 50th in teacher salaries and that she and her husband could no longer provide for their family. She alleged that although she excelled in her job as a science teacher, she had not received a pay increase in five years. She picked up several opportunities at the school to help her financial situation but says it was not enough.
"I created content at the beginning of the summer in order to earn extra money on the side to help pay for our basic necessities, that our salaries were no longer meeting. I chose [an] anonymous name as well as blocking the entire state of Arizona on my OnlyFans so that it wasn't accessible to anyone living in the state," she said in the video post.
A member of the community found the content.
Samantha Peer said that despite her efforts, on October 24 she was informed that a community member reported concern about her online content to police and school administration. She was placed on paid administrative leave and probation while the school investigated the claims.
At the time, she requested that a member of the investigative team be removed from the case, saying this person "created a hostile work environment" and she did not feel that the information presented would be kept confidential.
Samantha Peer resigned on October 31.
She alleges that the district did not fire her but that she "resigned under pressure" on October 31. At the time, the superintendent assured her that the information shared during the investigation would stay confidential. She also alleges that the administration told her that if she resigned before the upcoming school board meeting, nothing about the case would be shared with the school community.
Her husband was let go from his position as a long-term sub on November 4, CBS News reported. Because of his position as an at-will employee, school officials did not have to disclose a reason for his termination.
The Peers' adult content began to go viral on November 6.
Her "social media used for advertising" became viral on November 6, Samantha Peer said, nearly a week after she resigned from the school district.
"November 6 was the first day that previous students and community members began following my alias accounts. Other school teachers were notified of the site and they began to spread it amongst themselves. Those teachers were also telling students my anonymous name and showing them my page," she claimed.
Samantha Peer claims that no children were present during the filming of the explicit material.
She feels that she has faced the consequences of her actions.
"But I felt trapped in my financial situation and I felt this was the only way that my family will be able to survive. However, I do not believe that my name should be smeared throughout the community when I made one mistake that didn't affect anybody until other adults began allowing children access to my content," she says.
The district addressed the situation.
The school district contacted parents Monday, with a statement about the Peers' video content, according to KPHO-TV.
"It has come to our attention that students have been airdropping explicit material. The images did not happen during the school day and the person depicted no longer works for LHUSD. Please remove all images from your child's phone and talk with them about the appropriate use of technology," the statement reads.
Samantha Peer has posted a follow-up video to express her remorse.
She made a second video in which she addressed concerns that her first video did not seem like an admission of guilt.
"Of course, I'm remorseful. I miss it a lot. I have never asked for sympathy," she says in the video. "I just want to move on with my life. Because this is not where I wanted to be."
At this time, all of her social media accounts — including adult content — are still linked to her Facebook page.
