Farmington » Bountiful Junior High teacher Linda Nef on Tuesday admitted having sex with a 13-year-old male student after the victim and his family supported a plea deal that could keep her out of prison.
Nef, 46, who taught Utah studies and was a cheer-leading adviser, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony attempted aggravated abuse of a child.
The plea gives 2nd District Judge Rodney Page the option of imposing either probation or a prison term of three years to life when he sentences Nef on July 21.
Nef was originally charged with first-degree felony counts of rape of a child and sodomy on a child, which carry mandatory prison terms of 25 years to life.
Deputy Davis County Attorney Richard Larsen said the victim and his parents family wanted the possibility of probation left open for Nef.
"The victim and his family are very much in favor of resolving [the case] this way," Larsen told the judge.
Nef's defense attorney, Sean Druyon, told news reporters he was hopeful that Corrections evaluators would recommend that the judge choose probation. Druyon said Nef had already undergone a psycho-sexual evaluation that found she was not a pedophile and not a danger to re-offend.
Druyon added that while many male sex offenders are propelled by a sexual drive, which makes them dangerous, Nef was motivated by emotional needs.
Valynne Bowers, 40, a Bountiful Junior High math teacher being prosecuted for having sex with the same boy, also has been negotiating with prosecutors.
Bowers is charged with rape and forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies punishable by maximum prison terms of 15 years to life. She is set to appear in court again June 29 before Judge Michael Allphin.
Bowers was charged with less serious counts because the boy was 14 during their relationship, which lasted from Jan. 2 until Feb. 27, according to charging documents. Nef had a sexual relationship with the student from Jan. 1, 2008 through Feb. 14, 2008 and reported both herself and Bowers to police. Druyon said she had wanted to report the relationship earlier, but the boy had threatened to commit suicide.
