This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A former teacher told a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl that he'd traded good grades for sex with a student in the past in an attempt to entice the alleged minor over the internet, according to charges filed in 4th District Court.
The man, 43-year-old Stephen Louis Brink, of Provo, began chatting online with the supposed teen — who was actually an undercover officer with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task force — in May, charges state.
He brought up sex and turned the conversation sexual, court documents state, acknowledging that his proposal to the underage girl could "get him in trouble, but ... he is very careful."
Brink wrote that he had been a teacher for about eight years in three states, including Utah, and that two former co-workers were behind bars — one in prison and another in jail — for having sex with students, the documents state.
Brink described "at great length and in great detail" how he wanted to "take the virginity" of the fictional 13-year-old girl, investigators said.
In chats, Brink said he had exchanged grades for sex acts with a 14-year-old female student, with whom he had sex on "several other occasions," the document says. He also allegedly admitted to having sex several times with a 15-year-old female student, sometimes in his classrooms and sometimes at his residence.
Brink arranged to pick up the supposed 13-year-old at a park in Provo on June 2 so he could take her to his home where they would have sex, the document states.
Police officers met Brink at the park, and he agreed to go to the police station for questioning. He told officers he had made up some of the stories he told the undercover officer, but police have not confirmed that information, the document states.
Brink was booked in the Utah County jail that day and appeared in court last week on the charge of enticing a minor over the internet, a second-degree felony. A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday.
Brink's LinkedIn page says he worked at Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School as a computer science teacher, world religions teacher and a Latin teacher last year. His page also lists that he previously worked as a substitute teacher for Davis School District and Legacy Preparatory Academy in North Salt Lake.
A Stephen Brink is also listed as a Latin/history teacher at Oquirrh Mountain Charter School on UtahsRight.com.
Twitter: @mnoblenews