Teacher Gets 25 to 38 Years for Sex with Boy - Updated

(Flint, Michigan) Former elementary school teacher Allanah Benton-Wells, 43, was sentenced yesterday by Judge Geoffrey L. Neithercut to 25 to 38 years in prison for engaging in sex with a 12-year-old boy.

"I heard these words during the trial 'a school teacher having sex with her sixth-grade student is the most disgusting, reprehensible thing we can imagine,'" said Neithercut. "That's why you're going to prison."

Sad case all around, there are no winners. Everybody is hurt to some degree.

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Michigan Teacher Guilty of Sex with Boy, 12 - Updated
[Previous 12/24/09 post]
(Flint, Michigan) This week, 43-year-old Allanah Benton-Wells was convicted by a jury of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for engaging in sex with a 12-year-old boy. The jury began deliberating last Friday and a verdict was announced Tuesday.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Richardson referred to the student as the “12-year-old boyfriend” of Allanah Benton-Wells, 43, at one time during her closing argument, and played a conversation allegedly between the two inadvertently recorded on an answering machine.

The student’s mother heard the recording on Oct. 31, 2007 and brought the accusations to light.

Richardson said the boy was hesitant to tell his mother about the alleged sexual conduct because he was protecting Benton-Wells.

“He did not want her in trouble,” said the Richardson. “He loved her, he cared for her and he thought she was a nice woman.”

Benton-Wells’ lawyer, Steven Freeman of Lansing, said the student was intimidated into saying he had sex with Benton-Wells by his mother.

Reportedly, Benton-Wells faces a minimum of 25 years in prison when sentenced on February 11.

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Michigan Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy, 12
[Previous 8/19/08 post]
(Flint, Michigan) A 42-year-old elementary school teacher, Allanah Benton-Wells, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 12-year-old male student of hers.

Formerly at Williams Elementary School, teacher Benton-Wells was arraigned today on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under the age of 13.

Investigators say they believe Benton-Wells had sex with a sixth-grader who was a student in her class on two separate occasions around Halloween of 2007 when she was supposed to be tutoring him.

The boy's parents initially reported their suspicions to the principal of Williams Elementary School.