Former Special Ed Teacher to Serve 9 Months for Sex Assault of Student

Christine Powell, 40, of Middletown, the former special education teacher who pled guilty to a sexual relationship with one of her teen students last year was sentenced to nine months in prison, according to an article in the Hartford Courant.

The Courant also says Powell must also register as a sex offender, will be on probation for 10 years can never again have any contact with the teen.

Powell pleaded not guilty last Feb. 22 to second-degree sexual assault of a minor.

At least a year before police arrested Powell on charges she had sex with one of her teenage students, other teachers and paraprofessionals in the district had significant concerns about her behavior.

Those concerns and suspicions were strong enough that one paraprofessional quit over what she felt was an inappropriate relationship between Powell and the boy, who at the time was in middle school, and another raised concerns about the situation, at least twice, with an administrator.

Powell resigned prior to her arrest, in late 2011.

It was the boy’s mother who eventually went to police in late November of 2011, after her son had been in a relationship with Powell for many months and after the boy had spent a weekend with her.

When police began to investigate in November of last year, teachers and aides shared their concerns and suspicions. One told police that two summers ago she saw the boy hanging out at Powell’s home, swimming in her pool and that, wearing a bikini, Powell joined him. Others reported to police that they saw the boy hug Powell and smell her hair in the school. One said they overheard what appeared to be a spat between the two in the high school hallway. Another said she quit working as an aide at the middle school when she became uncomfortable with the relationship between the two. Still others saw Powell giving the boy rides around town in her car.

When confronted by police in November, Powell admitted that she and the boy began having sex in April of 2011, just after he turned 16. She said they would meet regularly for sex — weekly during the school year, more often during the summer — at her house.

“She said that their relationship was more than about sex,” the affidavit states. “She said that they truly loved each other and that they planned on moving out of state together after the victim turned 18.”

The teen and his mother, named only in the suit as "John and Jane Doe," filed a civil suit against the city last June. They are seeking damages for school officials' negligence in its handling of Powell and for failing to report suspected abuse to police.

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