SoCal Teacher Gets Prison for Rape of Boy, 12 - Updated

(San Diego, California) Former fifth-grade teacher Adrienne Feistel was sentenced yesterday by San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard S. Whitney to three years in prison for engaging in sex with a 12-year-old boy, the maximum sentence sought by prosecutors. Judge Whitney called Feistel's conduct predatory.

“You have betrayed your ethical, your legal and your moral obligations — as an adult and ... as a teacher,” he said.

The victim's family spoke during the hearing about how deeply hurt and betrayed they felt by Feistel's actions. The boy's mother, Maria Garcia, 44, and his sister Brenda, 20, both were teary as they spoke.

Feistel’s father and stepmother were in court, but didn’t want to comment afterward. An attorney for Feistel, Anna Yum, said her client would have had a better chance of obtaining treatment outside prison.

“With probation, she could get the help she needs,” Yum said.

During yesterday’s hearing, Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick said Feistel made statements about drinking a large amount of alcohol before molesting the boy, and that drug use has also been an issue.

Drugs and alcohol, eh? It's sort of a standard excuse.

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SoCal Teacher Guilty of Statutory Rape of Boy - Updated
[Previous 1/14/10 post]
(San Diego, California) Former elementary school teacher Adrienne Elizabeth Feistel, 36, pleaded guilty earlier today to one count of statutory rape. In exchange for her guilty plea, numerous other charges were dropped.

Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick Mazzarella said Thursday that she believed the case was resolved fairly.

The prosecutor argued in trial that Feistel molested the boy, who is now 16, on numerous occasions, starting when he was 12. She was close friends with the boy’s older teenage sister, and lived briefly with the family in Lomita, according to the testimony.

At one point, the boy’s mother caught Feistel asleep in bed with the boy and kicked her out.

Sentencing has been scheduled for March 18 when Feistel will face a possible three years in prison.

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SoCal Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 3/26/09 post]
(San Diego, California) A 35-year-old fifth-grade teacher formerly at Rosa Parks Elementary School, Adrienne Elizabeth Feistel, was arraigned yesterday on charges that she engaged in sex with her former student.

Feistel has been charged with four counts of lewd acts on a child with substantial sexual contact and six counts of lewd acts on a child aged 14 or 15.

She was the boy's fifth-grade teacher when she befriended his family, and even moved in with them for several months, according to San Diego police Detective Stacee Botsford.

She pressured the boy into letting her give him oral sex five times between August 2006 and August 2008, Botsford alleged.

The detective alleged that Feistel also text-messaged the boy and kissed him.

"They were kissing and cuddling," Botsford said in a written declaration to support an arrest warrant. "After that night (the boy) went to school and could not believe what happened. Feistel spent the night two nights later and they made out again. They made out more than 10 times."

Feistel resigned her teaching position in September 2006 and it's unknown where she has been working since then.

She was booked into custody with bond set by Judge David Szumowski at $50,000.