(8/14/07 - Initial BBT Report)

Richard Cea, 27, a former geometry teacher at New Milford High School, in New Milford, Connecticut has entered an Alford (no contest) plea to multiple counts of second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor and is facing up to six years in prison.

Cea, who was originally arrested on three counts of second-degree sexual assault, two counts of delivering liquor to minors and four counts of risk of injury to a minor on allegations that he had sex with two 15-year-old female students, supplied Smirnoff Ice Blackberry to a minor and photographed the minors in the nude while showering.

With his Alford plea, Cea does not agree with all aspects of the allegations against him but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence that a jury would find him guilty.

Cea is scheduled to be sentenced on October 26th.

10/27/07 - Sentencing

Richard “Ricky” Cea has been sentenced on multiple counts of second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Cea, who entered an Alford plea to the charges in August, was sentenced to three and a half-years in prison, 10 years of probation, ordered not to have any unsupervised contact with minors or work with children and to register as a sex offender for ten years.

In sentencing Cea, Judge Robert Brunetti said, “We entrust our children to our teachers. We don’t expect our teachers to be sexually involved with our children. And not once but three times. He should have known better. He wasn’t strong enough to overcome temptation.”

References:

New Milford teacher sent to jail on sex charges (10/27/07)

Former teacher pleads guilty on sex assault charges (8/14/07)

Background:

Sex case: Former teacher charged (11/10/06)

Former New Milford teacher accused of sex with students (11/10/06)

Paul Held, 69, a retired teacher who prior to retirement in 2003 taught at Bedford Middle School, in Westport, Connecticut has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography.

Held came to attention of authorities in August 2005 when he left a CD containing child pornography in a laptop computer which he borrowed and returned to a neighbor.

When investigators searched Held’s residence they seized six computers, three external hard drives and over 1,000 CD’s all of which allegedly contained child pornography. Held’s child pornography collection was alleged to contain between 3 and 4 million images classified as child pornography, some of the images were of children as young as 2 years old. Investigators said that Held also possessed numerous magazines, photos and VHS tapes containing child pornography.

In March of this year Held pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

In addition to serving ten years in federal prison, Held was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, register as a sex offender when released from prison, undergo a lifetime of supervised release and is prohibited from having contact with children under age 18 without the supervision of an adult who is familiar with his criminal history

References:

Former teacher sentenced to prison for collecting child porn (8/30/07)

Ex-Teacher Gets 10 Years For Enormous Child Porn Collection (8/30/07)

Former teacher sentenced to prison for collecting child porn (8/30/07)

Background:

Former middle school teacher held on porn charges (8/05/2005)

Former Bedford Teacher Ordered Jailed (8/05/2005)

Former Westport Teacher Pleads Guilty on Child Porn Charges (3/26/07)

Adam C. Benedict, 29, a cross-country and basketball coach in the Litchfield, Connecticut school system has been arrested on allegations of fourth-degree sexual assault and second-degree harassment of former students.

Reportedly, Benedict is also charged with interfering with an officer for refusing to answer the door when police arrived and identified themselves.

Benedict who reportedly is a cross-country and basketball coach at the middle school level, also helped coach the high school track team.

Following his Friday night arrest Benedict was released on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned this morning.

Benedict denies any improper conduct saying, “I am not guilty” and “at the time I wasn’t even working at the school. I was student teaching in another district. I don’t know where they’re getting that I was a teacher”.

Allegedly one alleged victim told investigators that Benedict took her back to his house where they went to Benedict’s bedroom and Benedict began kissing her and touched her breasts.

The second alleged victim says that she went to Benedict’s house and that the sexual contact consisted of the coach grabbing her breasts.

The sexual assaults are alleged to have occurred in January and April of this year in the bedroom of Benedict’s home, which he shares with his mother.

The alleged victims were high school seniors.

The harassment charges arises from allegations that Benedict threatened and/or harassed both of the girls via cellphone text messages.

Benedict, as conditions of bond, has been ordered to avoid the alleged victims, witnesses, Litchfield High School and any high school students.

References:

Accused coach in court in sex case (8/28/07)

School Coach Charged With Sexual Assaults (8/27/07)

Litchfield coach charged with sex assault on former students (8/27/07)

Coach accused of sex assault (8/27/07)

Adolph Campbell, 38, the former supervisor of the suspension room at Derby High School, in Derby, Connecticut has been arrested and charged with seven counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and six counts of risk of injury to a minor.

Campbell is alleged to have touched the breasts or buttocks of seven girls, six of whom were under 16-years-old, all of whom were assigned to Campbell’s classroom to serve as disciplinary actions to remove them from the presence of their classmates.

The allegedly improper touching is said to have occurred over their clothes and came to light when administrators intercepted a student note, became concerned and then alerted police.

Campbell was immediately placed on administrative leave March 13th of this year following the discovery of the note between students. On April 9th Campbell reportedly failed to show up for a due process hearing and was fired. He had been employed by the school for two years.

Following a five-month investigation Campbell turned himself in and was arrested Monday after a warrant was issued. Following his arrest he was released on $10,000 bail. Conditions of bail require that Campbell refrain from having any contact with the alleged victims or with any minors who are not family members.

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court on August 27th.

References:

School Worker Charged In Sex Assault (8/15/07)

Ex-Derby school worker faces sex charges (8/15/07)

High school monitor accused of sex assault (8/15/07)

Jillian Gehrkens, 28, of Middlebury, Connecticut, a former guidance intern at Newtown High School, in Newtown, Connecticut has been sentenced to 9 months in prison for having sex with a then 15-year-old male student.

Gehrkens’ relationship with the student began in December 2003 and ended sometime after January 2005. Gehrkens left the employ of the Newtown school district as a paid guidance intern in 2004.

Gehrkens was arrested on two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of risk of injury or impairing the morals of a minor in August 2005. In September 2005 she was charged with violation of conditions of release for twice meeting with the victim while under $25,000 bond on the original charges and under order to have no contact with the victim. Thereafter she was under house arrest.

In January of his year, Gehrkens, who was pregnant with her second child at the time, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault in the second-degree and guilty to a charge of violating the conditions of her release. As part of her plea deal she would serve nine months in prison of a seven year suspended sentence. This was the minimum sentence permitted by law. During 2006 her case was delayed while she was pregnant with her first child.

In addition to her nine-month prison sentence, she will be on ten-year probation and must have no contact whatsoever with the victim or the victim’s family, she must complete outpatient psychological counseling, her employment may not bring her into contact with minors, and she must not be arrested for other offenses. If she violates any of these conditions she is subject to serving the full seven-year term in prison.

Gehrkens gave birth to her second child about two weeks prior to sentencing.

References:

School guidance intern sentenced for having sex with student (7/27/07)

Gehrkens Sentenced To Nine Months In Prison (8/02/07)