A Teacher of the Year finalist was sentenced to a year in jail after admitting to having sexual relations with an 18-year-old student.
Bridgette Doucette-Howell, 40, a former teacher at Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, New Hampshire, admitted to sexually assaulting the student in April and May 2021.
She was charged under a new law that does not take into account the age of the student and instead holds those in power responsible for the crime.
The unidentified victim did not speak at a court hearing Thursday, but submitted an impact statement to the Rockingham Superior Court judge that said she did not want the educator to be criminally charged.
“I do not want Bridgette to be criminally punished for our reactions to our unhealthy life circumstances,” the student wrote.
Bridgette Doucette-Howell, 40, a former teacher at Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, New Hampshire, admitted to sexually assaulting the student in April and May 2021.
On Tuesday she was sentenced to a year in prison after being charged with three counts of serious aggravated sexual assault in March 2022.
Despite his opposition to the charges, Doucette-Howell was sentenced to one year in prison.
Under her plea agreement, she will only have to serve a minimum of 14 days, pending good behavior, before being sent to administrative home confinement for 50 weeks.
The assault took place in Kingston and Exeter between April 26 and May 22, 2021, when Doucette-Howell was working as a drama teacher at the school.
In March 2022, she was charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault for having sexual intercourse and one misdemeanor count of serious sexual assault for kissing the student.
His criminal case was the first to be challenged in the state by the Howie Leung Loophole Act.
The law, which was introduced in January 2021, “focuses on the influence authority figures have on relationships with students rather than the age of the student,” according to Coast Media Group.
It was created in response to a case involving Concord High School teacher Primo ‘Howie’ Leung, who allegedly kissed an adult student in a car.
At the time, without state law in place, Leung was not charged with a crime.
The law also states that ‘victim consent’ is not considered during the defense, and applies up to 10 months after students ‘graduation or departure’.
The student attributed the final outcome to the way the case was handled and said Doucette-Howell helped him when he was suffering mentally.
The attacks took place in Kingston and Exeter between April 26 and May 22, 2021, when Doucette-Howell was working as a drama teacher at the school.
The student added that he and his family were “shocked” that Doucette-Howell was facing criminal charges and that “he should have stayed at school level.”
“The way the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Department handled the case had more trauma than the case ever had,” the student wrote.
“The motives behind (Doucette-Howell’s) accused acts are not only inaccurate, but they do not describe who Bridgette is.”
“I needed someone to understand what I was going through and Bridgette helped me get through those tough times.”
The student added that he and his family were “shocked” that Doucette-Howell was facing criminal charges and that “he should have stayed at school level.”
Rockingham County Sheriff Chuck Massahos said he was pleased with the outcome of the case.
“For us it was very important that justice be done today,” Massahos said.
‘We have many hours on this case. “I think we spent over 400 hours on this case, just working with the state to make sure this case was presented the right way,” he added.
Doucette-Howell’s attorney, Kurt Olsen, said he was also “pretty pleased” with the outcome of the plea deal his client received.
In 2016, Doucette-Howell, who taught history to students with special needs, was recognized as one of eight finalists for the Teacher of the Year award presented by the New Hampshire Department of Education.
Under the agreement, Doucette-Howell cannot have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18, except her own children.
You should also attend mental health counseling with a therapist certified by the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse.
During counseling, she has to “scrupulously comply with all treatment recommendations.”
Once he is released from prison, Doucette-Howell must register as a sex offender, and if he moves out of state, he must register there and comply with local laws.
In 2016, Doucette-Howell, who taught history to students with special needs, was recognized as one of eight finalists for the Teacher of the Year award presented by the New Hampshire Department of Education.
She previously told New Hampshire union leader: ‘I was a student with a disability, so I understand the struggles that many children face every day in the classroom.’
‘To me, these children don’t really have special needs, they just learn differently. Everyone learns at their own pace and in a different way.’