Watch CBS News

Ex-OC Teacher Pleads Guilty To Having Sexual Relationship With Student, 17

SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — An ex-Orange County high school teacher pleaded guilty Monday to having a sexual relationship with a former 17-year-old student.

Scott Adrian Peterson, 50, accepted a plea bargain, according to Deputy District Attorney Nicole Varner.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, four counts of oral copulation of a minor, and two counts of sexual penetration by foreign object of a minor, which are all felonies.

Peterson, a Spanish teacher at Orange High School, met the then 17-year-old girl when she was one of his students.

Prosecutors said they started their sexual relationship in April 2010 and had sex at a motel in Orange.

The former teacher took sexual pictures of the couple and then text messaged those images to the girl.

Peterson and girl are currently in a relationship and were seen holding hands in the courtroom on Monday, according to attorney Todd Spitzer.

Peterson will be sentenced Oct. 5.

He was supposed to be sentenced to more than four years in prison, but because of new prison overcrowding laws, he will serve 16 months in jail and the rest of the time under supervision, according to Varner.

Peterson will not have to register as a sex offender.

(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.