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Farmington • A former Bountiful Junior High math teacher admitted Monday to having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old who was once her student.
Valynne Bowers, 41, pleaded guilty in 2nd District Court to two counts of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse.
Sentencing is set for April 4 before Judge John Morris.
There was no agreement between prosecutors and defense lawyers about sentencing. The prosecution plans to seek two consecutive prison terms, which would put Bowers in prison for 30 years.
Defense attorney Rich Gallegos said he intends to present evidence to convince the judge that jail time and probation are more appropriate.
Bowers was initially charged with five counts of rape and three counts of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies punishable by up to life in prison.
She previously rejected two plea deals, including one in which prosecutors would have recommended probation.
Prosecutors have said prior negotiations broke down because the defense wanted a Rule 11 plea, in which Bowers could have withdrawn her guilty plea if the judge refused to follow the prosecutor's recommendation and impose probation.
But Gallegos said Monday that a sticking point was his client's refusal to plead guilty to a first-degree felony, and face a potential life sentence, with or without a recommendation for probation from prosecutors.
He called Monday's agreement a "middle of the road" compromise that was "good for the victim and good for Valynne."
During a preliminary hearing in 2009, the boy said he initiated contact with Bowers in December 2008 by showing up to her after-school math study sessions, where he got her cell phone number and began texting and talking to her.
The boy revealed personal problems, including having been sexually molested as a younger child.
The communications turned sexual, the two engaged in phone sex and they had actual intercourse in January 2009. Soon after, the boy began giving her guitar lessons at her home, where they had sex every Friday night until the end of February 2009.
Then, in March 2009, Linda Nef, another Bountiful Junior High teacher, went to police and told them she had a sexual relationship with the same boy when he was 13 years old. Nef also told police about Bowers.
Nef, 48, who taught Utah social studies, later pleaded guilty to one count of attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, admitting she had sex with the boy from Jan. 1, 2008, through Feb. 14, 2008.
Nef was sentenced in July 2009 to prison for three years to life. Her first parole hearing will be in July 2012.
Gallegos said it took time to resolve Bowers' case, in part, because the judge had to decide about the admissibility of certain trial evidence. That included an unsuccessful defense request to tell a jury about a "pattern of how [the victim] would groom older women."
In charging Bowers with first-degree felonies, prosecutors claimed the boy could not legally consent to have sex with her because she occupied a position of special trust as a teacher.
Gallegos has denied there was any teacher-student relationship because no sexual conduct occurred at school and Bowers was not the boy's teacher at the time of the crimes. He reiterated Monday, "There was no lack of consent" on the boy's part.
At sentencing, Gallegos said he would request probation for Bowers based on her prior lack of a criminal record, her completion of therapy and "a lot of letters of support" from former students, their parents and the community.
Gallegos called his client "probably the nicest, sweetest person I've ever met."