Teachers in sex scandal to undergo evaluations

BOUNTIFUL — Two teachers charged with rape in a junior high school sex scandal will be undergoing mental health evaluations, their attorneys told the Deseret News.

Both women are accused of having a sexual relationship with the same boy, beginning when he was 13.

"We want to get all the information," said Sean Druyon, the lawyer for Linda Nef. "When you look at this at first blush, here's a 40-something-year-old woman, here's a 13-year-old, almost 14-year-old boy, 'What was she thinking? She must be a pedophile.' That's not always the case."

Valynne Bowers' attorney, Rich Gallegos, said he will ask for a psychosexual evaluation for his client but said she was not a predator.

"I think there's some psychological issues," he said Tuesday. "The kid is clearly a victim, but I think these ladies were somewhat vulnerable."

Druyon said he also is seeking an evaluation for the boy. He said he wanted to clarify some of the reports and rumors flying around since Nef, 46, approached Bountiful police last week, reportedly revealing a sexual relationship she had with the boy beginning when he was 13. Bountiful police said the boy, who was once a student in Nef's Utah studies class at Bountiful Junior High, also carried on a sexual tryst with Bowers, who taught math.

While he would not discuss specifics of the pending criminal case, Druyon said Nef wanted to come forward much sooner than she did, but he said she was afraid because the boy had threatened to harm himself.

"When she came in to see me, she wasn't sure if she could protect the child and confess," he said.

Nef told him that the relationship began after the boy had left her class, Druyon said.

"Nothing inappropriate happened when there was a student-teacher relationship, but the next year the boy continued to have contact with the teacher," he said. "He was dealing with his own emotional issues, and she acted as a counselor to him to help him through the problems he was having, and one thing led to another."

Druyon said there were after-hours phone calls, visits between classes, meetings after hours and text messages.

"Her role went from former schoolteacher trying to help him, and one thing led to another," Druyon said.