Attack fake, woman admits

A former Copper Hills High School teacher charged with having sexual relations with one of her students and who later claimed she was attacked in her own home in retaliation now admits she made up the story, police say.

Melinda Lee Deluca, 29, claimed in June that she was brutally attacked by two men who has broken into her house and waited for her to return home. Although police never released details on the types of injuries she suffered, she was taken by Life Flight to LDS Hospital.

Deluca was fired from Copper Hills in December when the school was made aware that police were investigating allegations she had sexual relations with one of her students.

Deluca was later charged in 3rd District Court with two counts of forcible sexual abuse, both second-degree felonies.

June's reported attack happened within a few days of a court hearing on the abuse charges, and Deluca told police that the men who attacked her made statements that seemed to connect the attack with the abuse case.

But South Jordan Police Lt. Matt Evans said after detectives put in a significant amount of time into exploring all possibilities, the evidence just didn't match with the information they were given.

Last week, they brought Deluca back into the police station for another interview and she admitted she made up the story, he said.

What they didn't get was an answer to the one critical question: "We didn't get an explanation as far as why" he said. "What she hoped to gain out of it, who knows? Nobody but her knows that."

Deluca did actually suffer some serious injuries, but Evans noted, "There weren't any injuries that couldn't be self-sustained."

Police are now considering action against Deluca, whether it be more criminal charges or civil action to recoup the cost of the investigation.

"People have to know you just can't waste those kinds of resources," Evans said of the extensive investigation.

A change of plea hearing was scheduled for Deluca for Oct. 3.

Meanwhile, a Tooele School District employee, Leslie Baird, 42, was scheduled to appear before 3rd District Judge Mark Kouris for a roll call hearing on two separate cases on Tuesday. Prosecutors contend Baird engaged in sex with students, provided alcohol and also sent sexually explicit text messages.

She is charged with two counts of first-degree felony sodomy, one count of second-degree forcible sex abuse, two counts of class A misdemeanor supplying alcohol to minors and three third-degree felony counts of dealing in materials harmful to minors.

Baird is not a teacher, but has worked with students as a special education aide and as coordinator of the math-remediation computer lab at the high school. She has been suspended.

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