UNION, S.C. – A South Carolina student who forced his teacher’s resignation by allegedly stealing nude images from her cell phone and sharing them with other students now faces criminal charges.

Union County Career and Technical Center teacher Leigh Anne Arthur resigned last month after a student took pictures of nude images stored on her cell phone intended as a Valentine’s Day gift for her husband, then sent them to any students who requested them, WSPA reports.

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“He opened up my gallery for my pictures and he found inappropriate pictures of myself and he took pictures from his cell phone of that and then he told the whole class that he would send them to whoever wanted them,” Arthur said. “The student who actually took my phone and took pictures turned around and told me your day of reckoning is coming.”

The photos were sent to other students, though police are unsure how many.

School officials blamed Arthur for the incident because her phone was unlocked and on her desk while she was greeting students in the hallway during the theft, and did not initially take any disciplinary action against the student. Union County schools superintendent David Eubanks gave the 13-year veteran educator an ultimatum: quit or get fired, and she chose the former, The State reports.

Arthur filed a criminal complaint about the theft, and investigators seized the student’s phone and analyzed its contents.

“They say a forensic investigation of the juvenile’s phone … revealed the photos taken from the teacher’s phone were stored in a separate passcode protected file that contained other photos of a sexual nature,” WSPA reports.

The 16-year-old male student was arrested Friday and charged with two felonies: computer crimes for accessing Arthur’s phone without permission, and aggravated voyeurism for sending the images to others.

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Aside from distributing the pictures, Arthur told WSPA her family has also received blown up 5×7 copies of four of the stolen private images in their mail box, one of which included a threat against the family scrawled on the back.

Police are investigating that threat, as well.

Union Police Chief Sam White said the student wasn’t surprised by the criminal charges.

“He didn’t offer any resistance, he didn’t seem surprised that we came,” he said.

Arthur was relieved to learn the student will be punished for ruining her career.

“I hope the arrest will set an example,” she said. “I’m relieved they are holding him accountable and responsible for his actions.

“When you’re 16 years old, just being sorry for something of this severity just isn’t enough.”

An online petition to reinstate Arthur has gained 16,728 signatures of support, but an official district statement by Eubanks makes it clear it’s highly unlikely Arthur will get her job back.

Eubanks not only shames the teacher for having the pictures, and alleges she’s lying about what happened, he offered new information Arthur said is flat out wrong.

“Evidence and statements indicate that the teacher was not where she should have been at the time the incident occurred. As a result, a student accessed inappropriate material on her phone, sent it to others, and as a result also may also be severely punished by law enforcement as well as the school district,” Eubanks’ statement reads.

“Contrary to statements attributed to Ms. Arthur concerning the phone, evidence indicates that students routinely used the teacher’s cell phone with full her permission. The teacher involved has widely reported that the student is not being punished. That is incorrect along with many other statements made by her. The extent of the punishment of the student will be determined by the findings of law enforcement,” it continued. “One error, along with many false statements, by a teacher, has and will affect the lives of many.”

Arthur told WSPA she’s only given one student permission to use her phone, her nephew, and only on one occasion. She said she was greeting students in the hall, a requirement for the school’s teachers between classes, when the student stole her private pictures.