(10/27/09 – Initial BadBadTeacher.com Report)

Andrea L. Billingsley, 31, a former teaching aide who worked with students with behavioral issues at West Jordan Middle School in West Jordan, Utah has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of having sexual relations with two 15-year-old male students.

Reportedly, Billingsley was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on two counts of felony sodomy, three counts of sexual abuse and 2 counts distribution of harmful materials to minors.

It is alleged that Billingsley picked the boys up and took them to a secluded location where she showed them explicit materials and engaged in sexual acts with them with the alleged incident occurring sometime near July 20, 2009.

Billingsley came to the attention of police who were contacted by school officials who had heard rumors of the alleged incident from students.

Reportedly, Billingsley who worked at the school 17 hours a week between August 2008 and May 2009 was not asked to return to the school this school year because money for her position was unavailable.

10/29/09 – Case Update

Andrea Billingsley has been officially charged in West Jordan’s 3rd District Court with five felony counts including two counts of forcible sodomy and three counts of forcible sexual abuse.

(11/05/08 – Initial BadBadTeacher.com Report)

Christopher Ben Page, 19, reportedly a substitute teacher and sweeper in Granite School District in Utah has been arrested, jailed and charged with sexually abusing a child.

It is alleged that Sandy, Utah Police found Page in a car with a 13-year-old girl, and both had their shirts off.

It is further alleged that Page told officers that he kissed the girl and that she offered to perform oral sex upon him.

Page was arrested on suspicion of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail.

Reportedly Page is a substitute teacher in the school district in which the alleged victim attends school at Churchill Junior High and they had been communicating via text messages.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that a shortage of substitute teachers has forced most local school districts to hire substitutes with only high school diplomas and that substitutes are only required to pass a background check and undergo 4 hours of training before teaching.

11/11/08 – Whoopsy!

KSL TV reports that the Granite School District says that Christopher Page was an “emergency substitute” and is not even qualified to be a substitute teacher.

Supposedly, the district’s regular substitutes are required to have at least 48 semester hours of college.

11/14/08 – Christopher Page Freed

Today a judge ordered Christopher Page released from jail to the supervision of Pre-trial Services, which monitors defendants deemed not to be a risk to flee or re-offend.

Pages’ release was conditioned upon an 8 p.m. curfew, no contact with the victim or anyone under the age of 18, and his not teaching any classes.

08/26/09 – Guilty Plea

Christopher Benjamin Page has reportedly, in a plea deal with prosecutors, pleaded guilty to two class A misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a forcible sexual abuse charge.

Under the plea deal, prosecutors will recommend treatment rather than jail time.

Treatment was the course of action recommended after a psycho-sexual exam revealed Page has no violent or aberrant sexual tendencies and he is considered a low risk to re-offend. Furthermore, the victim and her family indicated that wanted Page to receive treatment rather than jail time and sex offender registration.

10/28/09 – Sentencing

Christopher Benjamin Page has been sentenced to perform 500 hours of community service, undergo a sex offender evaluation and fined $1,000.

Reportedly, a psycho-sexual exam revealed Page has no violent or aberrant sexual tendencies, and he is considered a low risk to re-offend.

(08/12/2007 – Initial BadBadTeacher.com Report)

Arielle Beck, 28, a former teacher’s assistant and softball coach in Moab, Utah convicted of three second-degree felony counts of forcible sexual abuse and misdemeanor counts of stalking and supplying alcohol to a minor in a case involving a 14-year-old female victim has succeeded in getting her 2003 convictions over-turned.

The Utah Court of Appeals earlier this year issued a ruling over-turning Becks 2003 jury conviction on the basis that the trial judge, 7th District Judge Lyle Anderson, may have unduly influenced the jury by engaging in what has been reportedly termed “prolonged and adversarial” and “prosecutorial” questioning of Beck on the witness stand. The prosecution appealed the Court of Appeals ruling and last week the Utah Supreme Court uphold the ruling by the Court of Appeals granting Beck a new trial. Basically the courts held that while Anderson was within judicial power to question the witness to clarify answers that he crossed the line by asking questions that should have been asked by the prosecutor not by a trial judge.

At trial the victim testified as to the inappropriate touching, as did various students, teachers and the school principal all of whom allegedly witnessed it on occcassion. The victim also testified regarding the sexual abuse alleged. The victim’s mother discovered so called “love letters” and e-mails between Beck and her daughter.

Following Beck’s 2003 conviction Judge Anderson sentenced Beck to consecutive one-to-15-year prison terms. Beck had a parole-release date of October 24th of this year. With her conviction over-turned she will be freed and the prosecution has the option of filing charges and retrying her.

The testimony of the victim, who twice attempted suicide before Beck’s trial and hung herself in her bedroom closet after Beck’s trial, will be available for a second trial by way of transcript from the first trial.

Prosecutors have not decided if they will retry Beck citing the strain of another trial on the victim’s family. In addition to the victim’s suicide, her brother also committed suicide after his sister’s death. News media reports indicates the victim’s family is not sure it is up to another trial.

10/27/08 – Second Trial Scheduled

A second trial has been scheduled for Arielle Beck.

Beck will be tried on one count of sodomy and three counts of forcible sexual abuse, all felony counts. Beck will also be tried on misdemeanor charges of child abuse, supplying alcohol to a minor and allowing an unlicensed person to drive.

Beck’s trial is currently scheduled for April 20th.

10/23/09 – No Contest Plea

On Thursday just days before her trial was to start, Arielle M. Beck entered an Alford plea (no contest) to a single count of forcible sodomy.

In exchange for her plea, prosecutors dismissed three second-degree felony counts of forcible sexual abuse and misdemeanor counts of child abuse, unlawfully supplying alcohol to a minor and allowing an unlicensed person to drive.

The judge placed Beck on probation for five years, ordered her to pay $7,827.03 in restitution to the state Victim’s Reparation Fund, to complete sex-offender counseling and to register as a sex offender.

References:

Volunteer teacher pleads guilty rather than face second sex-abuse trial (10/23/09)

Moab teacher faces second sex abuse trial (10/27/08)

Moab Teacher’s Sex Abuse Conviction Overturned (8/13/07)

Ex-teacher gets new trial in child-sex-abuse case (8/12/07)

Court overturns conviction of coach in sex abuse case (5/06/2006) (Via Google Archive)

Moab Teacher Appeals Sex Abuse Case (3/27/2006)