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An ex-Ogden School District teacher was ordered to stand trial Monday on charges related to an alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student.
Justin James Davenport, 34, is charged in 2nd District Court with two counts of first-degree felony rape, four charges of first-degree felony sodomy and one count of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse.
He is accused of having sexual contact with one of his female students at Highland Junior High School during a relationship that lasted from January 2013 through November 2013.
After hearing testimony from the alleged victim on Monday, Judge Joseph Bean ruled there was enough evidence for the case to move forward to trial, according to Deputy Weber County Attorney Benjamin Willoughby.
During the preliminary hearing, the now-18-year-old testified that the relationship began with a kiss in February 2013, Willoughby said, and sexual contact began a week later. The prosecutor said the inappropriate contact took place in the portable where Davenport taught geography.
Willoughby said the teacher was fired from the school in March 2013, after another teacher found Davenport and the alleged victim "hiding behind a filing cabinet."
That teacher did not see anything sexual in nature, but "the school was aware of the impropriety," Willoughby said. "They let the police know back in March 2013. At the time, the victim did not disclose any sexual contact. She testified today that … he was telling her he loved her and that they were going to get married when she turned 18."
The teen testified that after Davenport was fired, they continued to have sexual contact in other places in Weber County, including in Davenport's car and at the Ogden River Parkway.
The girl also testified that Davenport would give her a Plan B morning-after pill, Willoughby said, and he would punch her in the stomach in an attempt to prevent pregnancy.
Davenport is expected in court again on Nov. 23. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of any of the first-degree felonies.
Twitter: @jm_miller