Former Commerce Teacher Charged With Rape Of Student Turns Himself In

A former Commerce Public School teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old high school student turned himself in at the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Friday. 

Deputies told KOAM, the CBS affiliate in Joplin, Missouri, Thomas Fenderson, 43, surrendered to them at the jail.

He faces three second-degree rape charges. On Thursday, Fenderson failed to show up for a court hearing. According to the documents Fenderson and the student had sexual encounters at the school, at his home, and at a hotel in Miami, Oklahoma.

5/30/2014 Related Story: Former Commerce Teacher Charged With Rape Fails To Show In Court