Teacher had sex with teen

Sydney - A female teacher was jailed for five years in Australia on Friday for having sex with a 15-year-old student who had begun dating her daughter.

The 36-year-old mother of four, Cindy Howell, sobbed in court as she was sentenced in the city of Melbourne, Australia's AAP news agency reported.

She had pleaded guilty to the charge of having a sexual relationship with the under-age boy over eight months last year.

Howell was employed at a high school as a teacher and was assisting the boy with a reading difficulty.

Their sexual relationship began after he started dating her daughter, the court heard, and in the following months they had sex at her home, his home and at a nearby beach.

Judge Jan Pannam said the case was "particularly disturbing" as Howell was in a position of trust when she engaged in the relationship.

However, she said she took into consideration the fact that Howell's plea of guilty saved her victim from having to give evidence in court and demonstrated remorse.

In September, a female teacher in Hobart on the Australian island of Tasmania was jailed for four years for having sex with five of her teenaged male students.

That sentence followed the jailing in May of former Melbourne teacher Karen Louise Ellis for six months on six counts of sex with a 15-year-old student.

Police: Teacher had lesbian affair with girl, 15

Instructor allegedly had relations 50 times while other student present in next room
Posted: November 3, 2005

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com



School officials in the Tampa Bay area are dealing with yet another sex scandal, as a 28-year old teacher is accused of having an 18-month lesbian relationship with a teenage girl.

Jaymee Wallace, a math instructor and coach of the girls' varsity basketball team at Wharton High School in Tampa, is facing 15 years in prison if convicted on felony charges of lewd and lascivious battery.

Authorities say the student, who was 15 when she met Wallace, voluntarily had sex with the coach more than 50 times, in a parking lot at Busch Gardens and often at Wallace's own apartment while a fellow classmate was in an adjacent room.

"There was another student who was there and was used as part of this cover-up so that this coach could have a relationship with one of her players," Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said at a news conference.

"This woman used her position as a coach and as a trusted teacher to gain more access to the female victim. ... And it is just simply inappropriate behavior that will not be tolerated. And that's why this teacher is facing a serious charge now."

According to the police report, the sexual relationship reportedly began in early 2003, after the student received a note from Wallace saying she "found her attractive and wanted to know if she felt the same way."

Officials are not identifying the girl, who is now 17, but say her parents are distraught.

"In this case the mother of the victim said that she simply felt betrayed," McElroy said.

Wallace denies the allegations, telling police the relationship was "much like a mother/daughter or a big sister/little sister."

Her attorney, Joe Bodiford, said the girl and her friends could not produce any love letters, text messages or other proof of the sexual relationship.

"This situation boils down to the credibility of the accuser," he told the Tampa Tribune. "I don't know what has fanned the fire of these girls' hyperactive imaginations. There is not one scintilla of evidence to back this up."

The alleged victim told authorities she destroyed the love letters, while others, such as her older sister, have testified to having read them.

Bodiford has filed a not guilty plea for Wallace, who surrendered herself to authorities and is now free on bail.

He believes Wallace's case is being impacted by another high-profile case involving a Hillsborough County teacher accused of sexual relations with a student.



Debra Lafave, 25, a middle-school reading teacher at in Temple Terrace, Fla., is accused of having intercourse with a 14-year old male student in her classroom, home and car. She's slated for trial next month.

"I don't want Jaymee and (her husband) Craig to get swept up and get 'Lafaved' based upon people saying here's another case that's similar," Bodiford told BayNews9.

The Hillsborough County School District has removed Wallace from her position at Wharton High, and reassigned her to an administrative job while the legal case moves forward.

Twofold investigation starts in teacher sex case

Escambia instructor accused of having two-year affair with teenage student

Allegations that an Escambia High School teacher had sex with a student are under investigation by city and county law enforcement agencies.

Investigators with the Pensacola Police Department launched an investigation Friday into accusations that reading teacher Janelle Bird, 24, and a 16-year-old boy were involved in an affair that began two years ago.

"Our investigators were assigned to the case this morning," Escambia County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ted Roy said Monday.

The dual investigation by deputies and police will continue until it is determined who has jurisdiction over the case.

"The only thing that matters is where the alleged activity took place," Roy said.

Neither Pensacola Assistant Police Chief Chip Simmons nor Roy would speculate on how long the investigation could take.

Meanwhile, Escambia School District officials decided to postpone their own investigation.

"We don't want to do anything at this point to impede law enforcement's investigation," said Alan Scott, assistant superintendent for human resource services.

Scott suspended Bird the day after the allegations but did not seek information from her.

"Employees have rights, and we want to make sure she is afforded any rights she is legally entitled to before an investigation begins," Scott said.

The 16-year-old's aunt called school officials Thursday and said the relationship began two years ago when Bird was a science teacher at East Hill Christian School and the boy was a student. This is the teacher's first year at Escambia; the boy is at another school.

Teacher Accused Of Sex With Students To Face Judge

Teacher Accused Of Sex With Students To Face Judge

(CBS4) PARKER, Colo. A high school teacher accused of having sex with one of her students is scheduled to be arraigned in November.

Nicole Barnhardt, 35, allegedly had sex with one of her sophomore students at Ponderosa High School twice.

The social studies teacher is facing charges of sexual assault and resigned from the school last week.

Barnhart will appear in court November 28.

Probation likely for teacher in sex case

Friday, October 28, 2005
By JASON DEL REY
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Diane West, a former Bayonne High School guidance counselor who admitted having a long-term sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male student, will be sentenced today at 9 a.m. by state Superior Court Judge Camille Kenny in Jersey City.

West pleaded guilty last month to one count of aggravated criminal sexual contact and, as required by law, forfeited her teaching license and related certifications.

As part of her plea, West admitted the student lived in her home from summer 2000 to the day before he turned 16 in March 2001, and that their relationship involved intercourse.

Because this is West's first criminal offense, Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Debra Simon said, the state will recommend she receive probation.

Without the plea deal, West could have faced up to five years in prison if convicted, Simon said.

Simon said the student, now 20 years old, and his family, who appeared in court last month, agreed to a resolution of the criminal case through the plea arrangement.