Female Teacher, Brianne Altice, Defends Sexual Abuse Of Her Teenage Male Students

Brianne Altice, a Utah teacher convicted of forcible sexual abuse of three male teenage students, has defended her sexual contact with one of the victims, saying she helped him to improve grades, according to The Independent.

The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday reported Ms Altice, 36, filed a handwritten document in federal court stating she had “no evil or malicious intent” in her relationship with the student. The name of the victim, who was 16 at the time the abuse occurred, appears in court documents. However, the newspaper didn’t identify him as they adhere to the principle of not disclosing identity of victims of sexual abuse.

The former English teacher at Davis High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, who is currently serving a two-to-30 year prison sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of forcible sexual abuse involving three 16- and 17-year-old boys during 2012-13 school year, submitted the two-page document last month in response to a lawsuit lodged by one of the victims and his parents against her and the school.

Brianne said that she wrote her own reply to the lawsuit because that she can’t afford “proper counsel to defend” herself. She claimed the boy sought her advice on “how to repair the strained relationship between himself and his parents,” and described how he would protect her from other students who would say “you’re hot” or “you’re sexy.” The teacher wrote, “Ms Altice expressed and advised [the boy] to communicate with his parents and continue to do his best in school.” She added that during the school year in which she taught him, his grades improved. The Sun reported Altice blasted the parents of one of the boys, who didn’t attend parents’ evening during the 2012-13 school year.

The complaint by the student and his parents alleged that the school administration was informed about Altice’s improper behavior with her male students, but did not act on the it. However, attorneys of the school district have denied officials had any knowledge of her conducts in the classroom.

Ex-teacher accused of sex w/ students says she had no evil or malicious intent to cause harm https://t.co/lNE0YISWnd pic.twitter.com/dI0AiDkea6

— FOX 13 News Utah (@fox13) April 5, 2016

Brianne said she had never been admonished by the school administration for her attire or her affairs with her pupils. She also denied the allegation that she was dismissed by one of her previous employers for having inappropriate relationships with minors. In her letter, she also denied accusations that she went to class wearing risqué dress and encouraged teens to hang out in her classroom while skipping class.

She, however, admitted in court documents that she touched the private parts of the three students between January and September 2013. Each of the three teens have testified at separate preliminary hearings that they had sex with the teacher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz6Qo-x4uy0

During the trial in July, the mother of one of the victims regretted that society often applies a double standard when a female teacher has sex with male students—and the boys are not seen as victims.

“I can tell you, unequivocally, that these boys are victims… They will be affected by this unlawful relationship throughout their lives.”

The woman added that she is “heartbroken” that the teacher’s conducts will have an impact on the defendant’s own children.

“It is unfair and it is unfortunate, but we can not help wondering how much she was thinking about her children when she chose to engage sexually with ours”

Altice’s attorney, Edward Brass, told the judge that her lewd behavior stemmed from a bad marriage and her issues with self-esteem. “She blurred the lines between being a teacher and a friend,” Brass said, adding that Altice also motivated many young people in a positive way at the school.

Brianne Altice was openly sobbing in court when the judge pronounced her imprisonment.

[Photo by Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP Images, Pool, File]