Teen testifies he sold drugs to Payson teacher

PROVO — After hearing a teenager's testimony that he sold drugs dozens of times to former Payson High School teacher and coach Kevin Gunn Poulsen, a judge ordered Poulsen to stand trial.

The 17-year-old Payson youth was the only witness in Poulsen's preliminary hearing Thursday before 4th District Judge James R. Taylor. The youth was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony.

After the hearing, Taylor ordered Poulsen bound over for trial in January.

Poulsen, who had taught computer science and science-fiction mythology at Payson High School for more than three years and was an assistant baseball coach, is charged with distributing a controlled substance and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

In Thursday's hearing, the youth said he provided prescription painkillers to Poulsen in return for favors in the classroom. He said he obtained the drugs from other students.

"During October 2001 to February of 2002, I would say I sold (Poulsen) drugs about 40 to 50 times," he testified. "In the month of February, I sold him drugs anywhere between 15 and 20 times."

Five Payson High students, four of them members of the school's baseball team, were referred to the county attorney's office as part of a possible prescription drug abuse investigation when Poulsen was first charged in April.

The witness said he wasn't the only student supplying Poulsen with drugs.

He described selling Poulsen several Lortab pills and a morphine sucker and said Poulsen once sniffed crushed Lortab pills with him.

In exchange for the drugs, Poulsen would help him by not reporting absences and by helping him fabricate homework for other classes, the youth testified.

"He would take an assignment, delete a student's name and put my name on it," he said.

Poulsen's attorney, Michael Petro, contended that the youth had made contradictory statements.