Former Utah Teacher Pleads Guilty To Having Sex With 3 Students

Former Utah teacher, Brianne Altice, 35, pleaded guilty to charges she had sex with three of her high school students at a court hearing on Thursday.

Some of the boys — two of whom were 16 and one 17-years-old at the time — said they considered the former Utah teacher to be their girlfriend. At least one of the relationships lasted for a year.

However, in Utah, it’s against the law for a minor to consent to having sex with a person who is in a position of authority, as was the case with Altice. The woman pleaded guilty to the three counts of forcible sex abuse in exchange for the prosecution’s agreement to drop 11 other charges, some of which are first-degree felonies, according to MSN.

The former Utah teacher faces one to 15-years in prison when she is sentenced on May 28. After the sentence was read, Altice was visibly upset and cried, while her lawyer requested that she be released until sentencing, which the judge denied.

According to Fox 13, the former Utah teacher is accused of having sexual relationships with the three teenage boys who attended Davis High School in Kaysville. The defendant’s lawyer, Ed Brass, argued she was not the victim’s teacher during the time they had the relationships, but the judge had ruled that she was in a position of trust over them.

In addition, the judge denied a motion to toss out an alleged confession Altice gave to police when they searched her house. However, the judge did agree to separate the trials and ordered the jury could not consider the other cases, Brass said.

“What changed things was the judge’s ruling that each case should be heard separately and each case would be considered on its own merits without reference to the other cases.”

The boys and their parents filed a lawsuit against the school district, alleging the school knew of the former Utah teacher’s activities and didn’t do enough to protect the students. Davis School District spokesman, Chris Williams said he cannot comment on the ongoing case, but the lawsuit indicates students at the high school would frequently ask, “Who is Ms. Altice sleeping with now?”

Brianne Altice was first arrested in October of 2013 when one of her students said he was allegedly involved in an inappropriate relationship with her. Two other students later came forward with similar allegations. The 35-year-old has been in jail for the last three months, after the third victim came forward.

The former Utah teacher was fired from the Davis County school district in 2014, after the allegations that she had sex with three students were revealed.

[Photo courtesy Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune]