A former Davis County high school chemistry teacher has been sentenced to prison for sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl.
Douglas B. Tate, 70, of Kaysville, was a part-time chemistry teacher at Viewmont High School in Bountiful when he had sexual contact with the teen last year, according to charges filed in 2nd District Court.
The teen was not a Viewmont student and knew Tate through “a secondary acquaintance,” Farmington police Chief Wayne Hansen has said.
Tate pleaded guilty in March to first-degree felony counts of attempted forcible sodomy and attempted object rape, as well as one count of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse. The crimes occurred between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1 in 2016, charges state.
Judge Michael Allphin on Monday sentenced Tate to prison on all three counts, ordering them to run concurrently to each other for a total sentence of three years to life.
Six other counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal, including a count of third-degree felony tampering with a witness.
Tate was placed on paid leave on Nov. 22, said Davis School District spokesman Chris Williams.
On the same day, Tate sent text messages to the teen, saying the abuse had been reported to his employer and instructing her to “get rid of everything” on her phone, and asking her, “Please don‘t say anything,” charging documents state.
Tate, who had been teaching at the high school since 2008, resigned from the school district Nov. 30, Williams has said.
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