On Wednesday, a judge sentenced a former sign-language teacher at Copper Hills High School with 90 days in jail for having sex with a 16-year-old student.
As part of an agreement made with the prosecutors, Melinda Lee DeLuca, 30, pleaded guilty to the charges of attempted forcible sexual abuse. This is a third-degree felony.
DeLuca had sex with the boy while he was one of her students at the Jordan School District School. In December 2005 she was fired.
The maximum punishment was to be five years in prison and the pre-sentence investigators recommended 60 days in jail. But the judge ordered 90. DeLuca must also receive sex-offender treatment and pay for all of the boys counseling.
The judge spared DeLuca from serving a year-long sentence in jail because of her remorse, lack of prior crimes, and the forgiveness from the boy’s family.
The boy’s mother said, “Even though she’s hurt my family, I’ve grown to love her. I want whatever happens to her to be what is best for her.”
