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SANTA ANNA, CA---A married former California English teacher said to be extremely popular with her students will spend the next six years in prison after admitting that she had seduced two of her middle school students and one of their friends.
Sarah Bench-Salorio, 29, told the judge Friday that she took full responsibility and that it would "remain in my conscience forever".
She had pleaded guilty in September to 29 counts of improper sexual contact with the three boys and could have faced up to 64 years in prison had she been convicted at trial. She will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.
She had been charged with having sexual contact with the boys who were between the ages of 12 and 14 at numerous locations in Orange County, California between 2003 and 2004. After one of the boys told his parents about the incidents, she was arrested last January. It was alleged that she had contact with the boys over dinner, through emails and phone calls. She allegedly had sex with two of the boys in her home, her came and in their homes. There was no indication that any force was involved.
Her attorney reportedly said that she was bi-polar and suffered from depression and that the behavior occurred because she was in a "much more comfortable relationship with the boys than with her husband".
Lawsuits have been filed against the school by the parents of two of the boys who claim that school administrators and teachers ignored warning signs of her "predatory" behavior towards the boys. 1-08-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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