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Kern County has its own sordid sex cases, too

BY JASON KOTOWSKI, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jkotowski@bakersfield.com | Saturday, Oct 20 2007 9:05 PM

Last Updated: Saturday, Oct 20 2007 9:09 PM

Every few months, a sordid tale of inappropriate relations between a student and teacher makes headlines somewhere across the country.

Kern County has seen its share of such stories. The following are several local teachers who have been accused of wrongdoing in recent years:

ANN ELIZABETH MILLER, a former mathematics teacher and wrestling coach at Highland High School.

ARRESTED: May 2006.

CHARGED WITH: Lewd acts with a child 14 or 15 years of age and 10 years younger than the suspect, exhibiting harmful matter to a minor and two counts of molesting children, according to the Kern County Superior Court Web site. Prosecutors believed Miller had inappropriate sexual relationships with three male students, including touching with two of the students and showing pornographic material to a third.

OUTCOME: Pleaded no contest to committing a lewd or lascivious act with a student and showing harmful matter to a minor. Sentenced Sept. 26, 2006, to a year in jail.

SHERRY BRIANS, a Buttonwillow Elementary School seventh-grade teacher.

ARRESTED: January 2006.

CHARGED WITH: Two counts of molesting a child under 18, battery on a person and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the court Web site said. According to reports, Brians and a male student told police they hugged and kissed on numerous occasions in her classroom at the school.

OUTCOME: Pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Sentenced Aug. 14 to three years of probation and counseling.

JENNIFER LYNN SANCHEZ, a former math teacher at Buena Vista Continuation High School in Taft.

CHARGED: Dec. 22, 2005.

CHARGED WITH: Four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, one count of oral copulation and one count of sodomy with a 17-year-old student, according to reports.

OUTCOME: Pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor charge of having unlawful sexual intercourse. Sanchez was sentenced to a year in jail with the condition she not serve any time if she abides by the terms of her probation. She also must see a psychiatrist and take medication to regulate bipolar disorder, which her attorney said she suffers from and led to the crime. The victim was close to his 18th birthday and pursued the relationship, factors that led to the light sentence, according to previous reports.

ANDREW KIM FLEMING, a former teacher's aide at Stockdale High School.

ARRESTED: March 2005.

CHARGED WITH: Two counts of unlawful sex with a minor and two counts of oral copulation with a minor, reports said. Fleming was suspected of having sexual relationships with two Stockdale students -- a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl.

OUTCOME: Pleaded no contest May 19, 2005, to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, according to reports. Sentenced to 180 days in jail.

KENNETH WAYNE POWERS, a former Heritage Christian Schools administrator.

ARRESTED: March 2004.

CHARGED WITH: Three felony counts and one misdemeanor count of child molestation, according to reports. He was at first accused of molesting a girl, but the girl kept changing her story about what happened.

OUTCOME: Convicted on one misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child. Sentenced Dec. 22, 2004, but the sentence was suspended while Powers appealed the conviction. The Fifth District Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, and Powers was resentenced to six months in jail and three years probation March 1, 2007.

MICHAEL HARKLEROAD, a former Bakersfield High School temporary teacher.

ARRESTED:March 2004.

CHARGED WITH: Continuous sexual abuse of a child and committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old, according to the court Web site. The alleged victim was not a student.

Outcome: Pleaded guilty to a felony count of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old and was sentenced to a year in jail, the Web site said.