Teacher Gets Prison in Attempted Upskirt Photo Case

(Dalton, Georgia) A 30-year-old Spanish teacher at Whitfield High School, Jonadab Burgueno, has been sentenced by Judge Jack Partain to five years in prison for attempting to take a cell phone photo under a girl's skirt during school hours.

In late March, Burgueno was found guilty by a jury on one count of attempted child molestation and one count of unlawful surveillance. In addition to five years in prison, he will serve five years of probation, pay a $5,000 fine and complete 500 hours of community service.

Defense attorney Mike Corbin said Burgueno had “numerous avenues of support” and asked the court to “be lenient.”

Partain mentioned that he had received 79 letters “on (Burgueno’s) behalf” and that there were issues “swirling around” in the case that made it difficult to judge. He mentioned “a lot of good things going for him” such as no prior record, good character “up until (the time of his arrest),” and that he came from a good family.

“However, I want it to be made clear that a letter-writing campaign does not sway the court in any way whatsoever,” Partain said. “Another thing that he has going in his favor is that the victims were not physically touched although they were emotionally traumatized ... (and) Mr. Burgueno did admit to what he did freely in court, finally, he did admit that.

“On the other side of the coin, I think about who has the most influence in anybody’s life other than your own parents, and that would be your teachers (who) influence you more than anybody ... he had a tremendously responsible job being a teacher. I’m not sure he realized that based on his conduct. A child puts special trust in his or her teacher, and it’s traumatic to a child and devastating to a child when a teacher violates that trust, as Mr. Burgueno has done.”

The girl’s father said Burgueno’s family had apologized to him “over and over” during court proceedings and that it was “appreciated.”

Heh.