Utah teacher, 36, who sexually abused three male students and continued a relationship with one while out on bail is sentenced to up to 30 YEARS behind bars

• A judge sentenced a former high school English teacher Brianna Altice to at least two and up to 30 years behind bars for abusing three male students
•  Prosecutors say one of the boys was 16 and two were 17 when Brianne Altice had sex with them
• 'I am human and I messed up during a very vulnerable time in my life,' said Altice 

By Associated Press and Alexandra Klausner For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:37 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 07:10 EST, 10 July 2015

A judge sentenced a former high school English teacher who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three male students to up to 30 years in prison Thursday.

Prosecutors say one of the boys was 16 and two were 17 when Brianne Altice had sex with them. The 36-year-old Altice was initially free while her case played out, but was sent to jail in January after it emerged that she continued a sexual relationship with one of the then 17-year-old boys while she was out on bail. 

Her lawyer said Altice is a damaged person who gave into daily flirtations from the boys because she was belittled at home and dealing with self-esteem problems. 

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Tearful: Brianne Altice, 36, reacts as the mother of a victim speaks during her sentencing on Thursday in Farmington, Utah where she was told she may face anywhere between two and 30 years behind bars 

Brianne Altice wipes her eye as she appears in court during her sentencing on Thursday

Made promises: Altice, pictured on Thursday, sent a handwritten letter to Judge Thomas Kay last month asking him not to send her to prison. She said she's harmless, and promised she wouldn't repeat the crime

Ex-teacher Brianne Altice sentenced to up to 30 years in prison

She cried as she apologized to the victims at a sentencing hearing on Thursday where she was sentenced to at least two years behind bars and at most 30 years. It is unlikely she will serve anywhere near as long as the maximum sentence.

'I am human and I messed up during a very vulnerable time in my life,' she told the court.

The mother of the then-16-year-old victim said her son was also vulnerable.

'You hurt my son in ways that you will never know. You hurt all of those boys,' said the woman. She did not give her name, and The Associated Press does not generally identify family members of sexual assault victims to avoid revealing a victim's identity.

Altice pleaded guilty to three counts of forcible sexual abuse in April.

Altice sent a handwritten letter to Judge Thomas Kay last month asking him not to send her to prison. She said she's harmless, and promised she wouldn't repeat the crime.

But Kay said Thursday that she needs to change her life, and he believed that would require prison time.

Brianne Altice is taken into custody and ordered to stand trial in January, 2015. Altice not only had sex with three students while she was a teacher, she even continued to sleep with one while she was out on bail in 2014

Attorney's reaction: Brianne Altice's attorney Ed Brass reacts to Deputy Davis County Attorney Christina Ortega's sentencing recommendations during her sentencing on Thursday 

Judge Thomas Kay told Brianne Altice on Thursday that she needs to have responsibility for her actions. 'You were the adult, you were the teacher, you were the one that could have stopped that from happening,' he said

'You were the adult, you were the teacher, you were the one that could have stopped that from happening,' he said.

Prosecutors say she befriended the boys, allowing them to hang out in her classroom, and the relationships later turned sexual. One victim said he considered her to be his girlfriend during their yearlong sexual relationship.

She was fired shortly after the allegations came to light, and her husband filed for divorce and custody of their child.

Her lawyer Ed Brass said she was no longer the boys' teacher when the sex occurred. He later said she took the plea deal to avoid an uncertain outcome at trial.

Confesed: Altice, pictured in her mug (left) and a school photo (right), pleaded guilty to three counts of forcible sexual abuse in April. Altice sent a handwritten letter to Judge Thomas Kay last month asking him not to send her to prison. She said she's harmless, and promised she wouldn't repeat the crime

Bad bail behavior:  The 36-year-old Altice, pictured in court on two seperate occasions, was initially free while her case played out, but was sent to jail in January after allegations emerged that she continued a sexual relationship with one of the boys while she was out on bail

Sobbing teacher Brianne Altice admits sleeping with students

Parents of two boys sued the school district, saying that officials knew that Altice was behaving inappropriately but didn't do enough to stop her. They alleged in court papers that the running joke at the high school was, 'Who is Ms. Altice sleeping with now?'

One lawsuit was withdrawn after state attorneys said schools aren't responsible for injuries arising from assaults. The other is still pending.

Altice was first arrested in October 2013 after a student reported having a relationship with her, and two more victims later came forward with similar allegations. 

The student who brought in the lawsuit accused the district of being negligent when it hired Altice and says it is responsible for the damage she inflicted on him.

Fired and divorced: Altice, pictured again in court, was fired shortly after the allegations came to light, and her husband filed for divorce and custody of their child

Altice was employed at Davis High School where she met all three of her victims. She was fired from the school after news of the sexual encounters surfaced. Now she faces up to 30 years behind bars 

He claims they started a relationship in early 2013 after they flirted during class and texted and ultimately started kissing and having sex.

He claims that the school district had reprimanded Altice after seeing photos of her having inappropriate contact with students but she was not fired, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. 

Despite the claims against her, one of her victims has previously testified that the charges against Altice are 'ridiculous' and 'she doesn't deserve to be here'.

He told the court he had sex with Altice once prior to October 2013 - when she was initially arrested - and then three more times after that in December, while she was out on bail.

In August 2014, a second student came forward to say he had also had a physical relationship with the former Davis High English teacher, whose marriage fell apart in the aftermath of the scandal.

Altice's attorney has said his client denies any romantic involvement with the three students.

'It is her defense that they did not happen at all,' he wrote in a motion. 'That she never engaged in any inappropriate contact with either of her students.'

But prosecutors said the teacher acknowledged to investigators that she had engaged in sex with a 16-year-old boy on two occasions.

The teen was able to accurately describe the layout of Altice's home to detectives as well as tattoos on her body.

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