Student Teacher Guilty in Sex Case

(Gilbert, Arizona) In February, a 38-year-old student teacher at South Valley Junior High School, Jeri Deanne Perez, was arrested for engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy. The sex between Perez and the boy, the son of a friend, occurred on six occasions in November and December 2006 at her home.

Today, Perez accepted the terms of an agreement and pleaded guilty to three felony counts of attempted sexual contact with a minor. In return, she faces 5 to 15 years in prison, compulsory registration as a sex offender and lifetime supervised probation.

Perez is scheduled to be sentenced on June 15th.

It's worth mentioning that this case represents a serious challenge to conventional thinking about who to trust. If you can't trust your child with a family friend who is a teacher, who can you trust?


[Update 06/16/07]

Perez sentenced.