Simi Valley Teacher Reverses Plea, Admits To Sex With Student

Simi Valley, CA – A former sixth-grade teacher turned herself in to police Tuesday after she was accused of committing sex crimes on a student under age 14. On Thursday, she admitted to having sex with a young student, reversing her not guilty plea placed the day before.

Malia Brooks, a 32-year-old former Simi Valley teacher, admitted to three counts of lewd acts with a child under the age of 14 and to the disturbing allegation that each act involved “substantial sexual conduct with a child.”

She had turned herself in after negotiating with police on Tuesday. She had been a sixth-grade teacher at Garden Grove Elementary School since 2004. She was once married with two children, but divorced some time ago.

Brooks’ alleged victim was a male student from the K-6 school, but authorities wouldn’t say if he was in the teacher’s class, nor did they seem to specify exactly how old he is. However, authorities consider him to be Brooks’ only victim.

According to Simi Valley police, the authorities were made aware of Brooks’ relationship with the student in late February by school officials, who said that the inappropriate conduct had been going on for several months. School officials didn’t say how they found out about the relationship.

Brooks was put on leave on February 21, and resigned on June 5.

Her attorney, Ron Bamieh, said that the former Simi Valley teacher “has suffered from a mental illness.”

“We’ve had her diagnosed and she’s in treatment,” he continued. “My guess is a lot of the charges precipitated from that illness.”

Her bail was set at $2 million after she was deemed a flight risk. She’ll face sentencing on August 23.

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