Teacher Deanna Bobo Sex Assault Case

(Fort Smith, Arkansas) If there has been such a thing as an adult-rated high school soap opera, the Deanna Bobo story must be following the script. Or maybe the first such script is being written in real time.

To refresh memories, 37-year-old Deanna Bobo, married mother of five and special education teacher at Wells Jr. High School, was arrested in November 2005 for sexually abusing a 14-year-old male student. Bobo turned herself in to the Sebastian County Detention Center and was charged with first-degree sexual assault.

Since last November, the substance of the Bobo case has changed because new victims have come forth to tell their stories. Consequently, the prosecution was able to gather a score of witnesses for yesterday's pretrial hearing in Sebastian County Circuit Court for motions by the state and the defense. Bobo's trial is scheduled to begin on September 18th.

The following describes and excerpts from yesterday's proceeding and is well worth reading. Courtroom drama is evident. I personally see a picture being painted about the married, mother of five, teacher, who is now 38.

From Times Record:

After hearing testimony from 20 witnesses called by the state, Judge Norman Wilkinson said the testimony of at least 11 of the witnesses was inadmissible. He said he would issue a written ruling later specifying what testimony he considered admissible.

One of the witnesses refused to answer questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself. Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dan Shue told the judge he could not think of any way the witness could incriminate himself.

Wilkinson allowed the witness to step down and said he would take up that issue at a later hearing. He set a tentative date of Aug. 21 for the hearing.

As a result, the witness pool has been trimmed with a few issues remaining to be resolved. Notably, five of the witnesses testified that they had sex or sexual contact with Bobo at some time between 1991 and 2005. One witness, Steve Gentry, said he had sex with Bobo as a student in the early 1990s, then married her, then divorced her.

But wait! There's more. And I think it's important to reiterate that Deanna Bobo is a special education teacher.

Eight witnesses testified that they witnessed unusual behavior by Bobo while they were her students or were attending the school where she taught.

One witness said he saw Bobo sitting with her legs apart while wearing a skirt and no underwear.

Defense attorney Shannon Foster sat in a chair facing the 17-year-old witness, moved her legs apart and asked, "Can you tell if I'm wearing underwear or not?"

"No," the witness said.

Foster asked the boy to describe exactly what he saw under Bobo's skirt, but he did not answer. Foster stopped her cross-examination when the boy appeared to be starting to cry.

Another witness said he walked into a classroom and saw two male students touching Bobo in the "breast area."

Foster said the witness previously told police he saw Bobo touching the boys. "Which is it?" she asked.

"All I am saying is, there was a lot of action going on," the witness said.

Witnesses also testified that Bobo invited male students to come to her house while her husband was away; said she would wear "sexy clothes" when the students came to her house; told students she was wearing a thong; sat behind a male student and twirled his hair; and wore low-cut tops to school.

Several witnesses testified that a male student stuck a cardboard tube into the front of his pants as a joke, and Bobo grabbed the tube and said it was not real.

Two witnesses testified that they saw a male student "scooping" Bobo, which was defined as giving her breast an upward flip. The student was not punished, the witnesses said.

Larry Gant, a counselor with the Arkansas Department of Community Correction, and Jackie Hamilton, coordinator for the Sebastian-Crawford Multidisciplinary Team on Child Sexual Abuse, testified that Bobo appeared to have been "grooming" students to become victims of abuse.

The detailed reporting from the courtroom by John Lyon of the Times Record makes me believe that Bobo has an aggressive defense team comprised of savvy lawyers. Frankly, I wonder how a teacher could afford such representation.

Nonetheless, we may see some twists and turns in the case as it approaches trial date. August 21st is the tentative date for the next session of legal wrangling.

Other coverage: TheSmokingGun.com


[Update 09/26/06]

Bobo sentenced to 12 years in prison.