Teacher pleads guilty to having sex with students after claiming law was unconstitutional


Alabama teacher, 47, who once claimed US Constitution entitled her to have sex with her students has now pleaded guilty to sleeping with 17 and 18-year-old boys

  • Former teacher and cheerleading coach Carrie Witt, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of school employee engaging in a sex act with a student 
  • Witt faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced on July 1 
  • Judge earlier dismissed charges against Witt after she argued law barring school staff from having sex with a student under 19 years old was unconstitutional
  • Witt claimed her relationships with two students, ages 17 and 18, were consensual, and the 2010 law violated her right to privacy 
  • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals later reversed ruling and reinstated charges against Witt 

Former Alabama high school teacher and cheerleading coach Carrie Witt, 47, has pleaded guilty to one count of school employee engaging in a sex act with a student

Former Alabama high school teacher and cheerleading coach Carrie Witt, 47, has pleaded guilty to one count of school employee engaging in a sex act with a student

A former Alabama teacher and cheerleading coach who previously argued that a state law barring school staff from having sex with students younger than 19 was unconstitutional has now admitted her guilt.

Carrie Witt, 47, on Monday entered a plea of guilty to one count of school employee engaging in a sex act with a student. 

In exchange for her plea, Morgan County prosecutors agreed to drop a second charge against Witt, who was initially accused of having sex with two boys, ages 17 and 18.   

‘We’re glad that it’s resolved, that it’s done,’ Morgan County Assistant District Attorney Courtney Schellack told Decatur Daily. ‘It’s been a long process and we’re just glad it’s done for the community and the victims in the case.’ 

Witt was scheduled to go on trial on Monday, but instead entered a ‘blind plea’ with prosecutors without reaching a sentencing agreement with them, which will allow them to seek whatever sentence they see fit.

Witt taught history, psychology and social studies, as well as coaching the varsity girls' golf team and and junior varsity cheerleading at Decatur High School

Witt taught history, psychology and social studies, as well as coaching the varsity girls’ golf team and and junior varsity cheerleading at Decatur High School

‘And in this case, we believe that prison time is more than appropriate,’ Schellack said.  

She faces up to 20 years in state prison and will be required to register as a sex offender when she is sentenced on July 1. 

Witt taught history, psychology and social studies, as well as coaching the varsity girls’ golf team and and junior varsity cheerleading at Decatur High School, when in March 2016 she was charged with having sexual contact with two students, who were 17 and 18, respectively, at the time of the encounters. 

In 2017, a judge dismissed the charges against Witt after her lawyers successfully argued that a 2010 law that made it a felony for a school employee to have sex with a student under 19 years old was unconstitutional.

Witt claimed that she was in a consensual relationship with the students, and that she was only prosecuted for being a school employee, which violated her 14th Amendment right to privacy and equal protection. 

In 2017, a judge dismissed charges against Witt after she argued that a 2010 law barring school staff from having sex with a student under 19 years old was unconstitutional

In 2017, a judge dismissed charges against Witt after she argued that a 2010 law barring school staff from having sex with a student under 19 years old was unconstitutional

Morgan County Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson said the court found the statute ‘unconstitutional’ and that there was no proof Witt used her position of authority to force the two students to have sex.

The judge noted that state law allows students to legally have sex at age 16, as long as someone doesn’t use their position of authority to obtain that consent.

Prosecutors filed an appeal and the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the ruling and reinstated the charges against Witt.  

She was put on administrative leave with pay by Decatur High School and resigned in April 2018. 

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