http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 90342/1002
And yeah... she's very hot. Makes me wish I didn't graduate.
McCandless gets 45 days for sexual relationship with 17-year-old student
BY SARA REED
[email protected]
Calling the sentence "relatively lenient," a District Court judge Friday ordered a former Brighton Charter High School teacher to serve 45 days in jail as part of her sentence for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student last year.
Carrie McCandless, 30, also was sentenced to five years of intensive supervised sex offender probation as part of a plea deal she entered in April. McCandless also will have to register as a sex offender.
Over her attorney's objections, McCandless was taken into custody by Larimer County Sheriff's deputies immediately following the hearing. Trani had asked Hiatt to allow McCandless to turn herself in at the jail by the end of the day to be spared the embarrassment of having her picture taken by a Coloradoan photographer while being taken into custody.
McCandless blew a kiss to her husband as she was taken from the courtroom.
She will be held at the Larimer County Detention Center.
As part of the plea agreement, McCandless pleaded guilty to misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact with a minor for fondling Tommy Clay while chaperoning a school-sponsored trip to Estes Park last October.
Clay spoke on national television earlier this year about the relationship, saying the two had professed their love for one another and once swapped 76 text messages in one day.
McCandless, who is married to the school's principal, also pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor for giving Clay alcohol during the trip, a felony, and tampering with physical evidence, another felony, for contacting Clay following a court hearing earlier this year, which violated the conditions of her bond.
She received a deferred sentence for both those charges, which will be wiped from her record if she successfully completes the sentence.
Chief Judge James Hiatt said he initially hesitated to accept the plea, calling McCandless' actions a "serious criminal offense" and her behavior "extraordinary."
"In fact, she set a bad example," he said during the hearing.
Clay did not attend the hearing and McCandless only spoke to tell Hiatt she did not wish to make a statement.
However, during and following the hearing, defense attorney Trent Trani painted a picture much different that what prosecutors had presented in the case.
"She took interest in him because he was a struggling student," Trani said. "On a number of occasions, she rebuffed his advances."
On the night that another student said she saw the two "making out" during the school trip, Trani said Clay initiated the contact.
"She said she woke up with (Clay) behind her, fondling her," he said during the hearing.
BY SARA REED
[email protected]
Calling the sentence "relatively lenient," a District Court judge Friday ordered a former Brighton Charter High School teacher to serve 45 days in jail as part of her sentence for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student last year.
Carrie McCandless, 30, also was sentenced to five years of intensive supervised sex offender probation as part of a plea deal she entered in April. McCandless also will have to register as a sex offender.
Over her attorney's objections, McCandless was taken into custody by Larimer County Sheriff's deputies immediately following the hearing. Trani had asked Hiatt to allow McCandless to turn herself in at the jail by the end of the day to be spared the embarrassment of having her picture taken by a Coloradoan photographer while being taken into custody.
McCandless blew a kiss to her husband as she was taken from the courtroom.
She will be held at the Larimer County Detention Center.
As part of the plea agreement, McCandless pleaded guilty to misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact with a minor for fondling Tommy Clay while chaperoning a school-sponsored trip to Estes Park last October.
Clay spoke on national television earlier this year about the relationship, saying the two had professed their love for one another and once swapped 76 text messages in one day.
McCandless, who is married to the school's principal, also pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor for giving Clay alcohol during the trip, a felony, and tampering with physical evidence, another felony, for contacting Clay following a court hearing earlier this year, which violated the conditions of her bond.
She received a deferred sentence for both those charges, which will be wiped from her record if she successfully completes the sentence.
Chief Judge James Hiatt said he initially hesitated to accept the plea, calling McCandless' actions a "serious criminal offense" and her behavior "extraordinary."
"In fact, she set a bad example," he said during the hearing.
Clay did not attend the hearing and McCandless only spoke to tell Hiatt she did not wish to make a statement.
However, during and following the hearing, defense attorney Trent Trani painted a picture much different that what prosecutors had presented in the case.
"She took interest in him because he was a struggling student," Trani said. "On a number of occasions, she rebuffed his advances."
On the night that another student said she saw the two "making out" during the school trip, Trani said Clay initiated the contact.
"She said she woke up with (Clay) behind her, fondling her," he said during the hearing.
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