Sentenced to 90 days in jail - not prison - and 10 years to life of sex-offender-intensive-supervised probation.
Dec 21, 2006 - Elizabeth High School teacher, Darcie Esson, 32, was arrested for felony sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. She is accused of having sex with a member of the school's football team in a motel room while the team was on the road for a playoff game, according to an arrest affidavit.
The document said she had sex with the 17-year-old player in her room early Nov. 12 as her two children, ages 4 and 8, and a teenage baby sitter slept there. Esson's divorce had been finalized two days before, the document said.She was suspended. The school district, apparently, is no winner either. [The district""has been through some difficult times in recent years, dealing with financial issues and embezzlement charges that were filed four years ago."
UPDATE Dec 28 - Esson has hired Kobe Bryant's lawyer. [Well, someone has.]
NO BOND REDUCTION Mar 3, 2007 - A judge has denied a bond reduction. She has been out on a $25,000 bond since her arrest. The D.A. maintains that Esson had tried to contact the alleged victim after her arrest. In response, the judge approved a mandatory protection order that bars Esson from doing so.
She resigned shortly after her arrest. A preliminary is set for May 17.
ADDITIONAL CHARGES May 18 - Two additional charges have been filed against Esson. She had originally faced one charge, "but now faces two counts of sexual assault on a child, 15 to 17 years old, by a person in a position of trust; and one count of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust with a pattern of sexual abuse." There was no explanation for the additional charges.
The preliminary hearing was continued tentatively until June 19.
GUILTY PLEA June 20 - Esson pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault on a child ages 15-17 while in a position of trust, and the other two charges were dropped in the plea agreement. The agreement does not include sentencing which will be determined by the judge. She will be sentenced August 14.
SENTENCING DELAYED Sept 6 - Sentencing has been rescheduled to December 13 while Esson is "for her appropriateness for jail."
SENTENCED Dec 13 - Esson was sentenced to 90 days in jail - not prison - and 10 years to life of sex-offender-intensive-supervised probation.
The teenager’s mother said that because of Esson’s actions, her son lost interest in school and athletics. The school administration threatened disciplinary action against him even after he told the truth, and students ridiculed him, she said.The judge - Judge Denise Lynch - also sentenced Esson to random urine tests, substance abuse and alcohol treatment and a mental health evaluation. Esson must also register as a sex offender within five days, engage in sex offender specific treatment and pay over $17,000 in restitution.
... She said she was disturbed to learn Esson has children of her own.“She molested my child in front of them,” she said. “She didn’t care.”
The teenager’s father added that Esson didn’t take responsibility in the months after the crime.“She chose to call my son every night, at times all night, telling him — a boy — that it’s his responsibility to keep it quiet, not to tell the truth,” he said.He asked for the harshest punishment possible.
