A lawsuit brought against a Utah school district over ex-teacher Brianne Altice, who was thrown in prison for sleeping with three male students, was tossed by the Utah Court of Appeals, Fox 13 reported Saturday.
Altice, 38, taught at Davis High School. She was sentenced in 2015 to serve up to 30 years behind bars.
A male victim sued the Davis School District claiming it had been negligent in hiring and supervising the teacher -- and keeping her employed, according to the station.
Altice during her sentencing in 2015. (Fox 13, Pool)
FEMALE TEACHERS CHARGED OR CONVICTED OF HAVING SEX WITH STUDENTS
The plaintiff said he was 16 when “one of his high school teachers (Teacher) initiated a romantic relationship with him,” Judge Ryan M. Harris of the Utah Court of Appeals explained in a ruling.
The plaintiff, Harris wrote, claimed “at the time it hired Teacher, the District knew, or at least should have known, that Teacher 'had been previously terminated from former employment due to sexual misconduct.'”
The school district argued that it was legally protected from any injuries that may have been caused by Altice, and the appeals court panel agreed with that argument late Friday, upholding a lower court's ruling, Fox 13 reported.
Brianne Altice.
“It might seem counterintuitive that our law provides no civil remedy against a school district that is alleged to have negligently hired and retained a teacher who has illegal sexual contact with her minor students,” Harris wrote. “But this conclusion is, in our view, compelled by [the Governmental Immunity Act of Utah] and by Utah Supreme Court precedent.”
Altice said in a Jan. 24 parole hearing, “I clearly lost sight of all my values and my principles and was seeking inappropriate means to address my own issues,” Fox 13 reported. She was denied parole, it was reported later that month. An April 2019 parole rehearing for the mother of two is planned.
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