Heather Butts, a former middle school teacher from California, has been sentenced to four months county jail after she was charged for having a sexual relationship with her 15-year-old student.
According to reports, Butts, a 42-year-old from Millbrae, California who was teaching drama at Taylor Middle School, pleaded no contest to a felony count of lewd acts with a minor. Butts pleaded in October, more than a year after she was spotted kissing the 15-year-old female student inside a white van parked near an elementary school.
The plea deal states that prosecutors agreed to dismiss a second felony charger and a misdemeanor charge of violating a no-contact order. In addition to the jail time, Butts also will be required to register as a sex offender and is prohibited from being in the presence of minors.
via Mercury News:
San Bruno police opened an investigation in August 2016 after receiving an anonymous tip that a woman and a girl were kissing inside a van near Lomita Park Elementary School in San Bruno. Officers found Butts alone in the van and the girl nearby. The girl was identified as a 15-year-old Mills High School student and a former pupil of Butts’ at Taylor Middle School in Millbrae.
Prosecutors said the girl initially denied anything inappropriate had occurred, but later admitted that she and Butts were in love and had been kissing. Explicit text messages on the girl’s phone also revealed an ongoing relationship, prosecutors said.
The investigation also reportedly revealed earlier sexual conduct between Butts and the victim in October 2015.
In addition to the jail time and registering as a sex offender, Buuts will serve three years of supervised probation.
This is the latest in a string of teacher/student sex scandals this year. In November, Tennessee teacher Janet Smothers was arrested. Former nutrition teacher LaToya Parker was also arrested for a relationship with a student. Florida teacher Caroline Lawson was charged with sexual assault. 26-year-old Allyson Moran was also arrested for similar crimes. The 23-year-old high school teacher Katherine Ross Ridenhour was also arrested for an inappropriate relationship.
Furthermore, Hunter Day, 22, was also arrested after a sting operation. Megan Kotarski was also arrested on similar charges. Michelle Schiffer, a 23-year-old history teacher in Texas, was also charged and arrested for allegedly having sex with a teenage student. 29-year-old Alyssia Marie Reddy was arrested in Maryland for her crimes in New Jersey. Samantha Fitzgerland, a 28-year-old, was most recently arrested and charged. Jordan Ondish was arrested for her inappropriate relationship with a 19-year-old, while 28-year-old Samantha Fitzpatrick was arrested on similar charges.
Nicole Marie Andrews was arrested as well. 32-year-old Jessica Langford was arrested and charged with sexual assault-related crimes as well. A teacher from Oregon, Andrea Baber, was accused of having a sexual relationship with a student. Robin Dunlap, a teacher in Florida, was arrested for sending illicit photos to a 15-year-old boy in Texas. Teacher and tennis coach Jennifer Olajire-Aro was also charged.
