Brianne Altice, a suburban Salt Lake City teacher who pleaded guilty in April to three felony charges in connection with allegedly having sex with students, was sentenced up to 30 years in prison by a Utah district judge on Thursday.
The sentence from Judge Thomas Kay came after an unidentified mother of one of the victims charged that society often applies a double-standard to such cases in which sexually abused teenage boys are not viewed in the same light as male teachers preying on female students,
according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
"I can tell you, unequivocally, that these boys are victims," the mother told the court in Farmington. "They will be affected by this unlawful relationship throughout their lives."
Altice, 36, was an English teacher at Davis High School in nearby Kaysville, Utah, who was married and with children of her own.
"It is unfair and it is unfortunate, but we cannot help wondering how much she was thinking about her children when she chose to engage sexually with ours," said the woman.
Kay sentenced Altice on three counts of felony forcible sexual abuse involving sexual activity with three students ages 16 of 17, ordering two of the terms to be served consecutively,
reported KSL-TV. Eleven other felony counts were dropped because of a plea bargain.
"I don't know if you are taking responsibility," Kay told Altice in court before sentencing. "I also wonder if you're in denial of what you've done."
County attorney Cristina Ortega told Kay she believed Altice's actions were "deliberate and escalated" because flirtations with each victim turned into sexual relationships.
"There are layers of excuses, minimization, not taking responsibility," Ortega told the court. "This is not just a mistake, it was a mistake that was repeated with three separate students."
Altice's attorney, Ed Brass, said his now divorced client felt unworthy and unattractive during her marriage while she was "lavished with attention" and "relentlessly pursued" in school,
reported the Deseret News.
"(Altice) blurred the lines between being a teacher and being a friend," Brass told the court, saying she was "a damaged person who needs counseling and therapy."
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