DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. — A DeSoto County school teacher is on the hot seat for supporting convicted sexual offender Lindsey Whiteside.

Ashley Ford, a teacher at Lewisburg Intermediate School, is taking a leave of absence beginning Monday. No reason was given.

An email to parents from the principal at Lewisburg Intermediate stated, “At this time, we wanted to ensure you were aware that Mrs. Ford will be out for an undetermined amount of time beginning Monday, October 20th.”

The email went on to say a certified substitute would be instructing Ford’s class for the time being.

This comes as protesters are demanding the removal of school board member Michele Henley, who wrote a letter of support for Whiteside.

On the same day Whiteside pleaded guilty to sexual battery of a minor, Ford testified in support of the former youth minister. Ford told the court she and Whiteside were very close and she didn’t believe Whiteside was a criminal.

“She’s not going to hurt anybody. This is not going to happen again. I do not condone what she did. However, she’s not a threat to anyone in this community,” Ford said in court.

Concerned citizen Aubrie Johnson is outraged over what Whiteside admitted to, and angry educators like Ashley Ford supported her.

“That’s a small battle. The victory is her resignation and I’m not going to stop until she resigns,” Johnson said. “The parents with children in her class, they want her to resign. They don’t trust her with their children, as they shouldn’t. I wouldn’t trust her with mine.”

The announcement of Ford’s leave of absence comes as protestors call for the removal of Michele Henley from the Desoto County School Board.

Henley, who wrote a letter of support for Whiteside, declined Friday to voluntarily step down from her position.

In a major development, a group called Desoto County Parents for Accountability is asking parents to keep their children home from school countywide on Wednesday, Oct. 22 to get their message of concern across.