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PAYSON — A former junior high school secretary who was acquitted of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old former student was sentenced to probation Tuesday for obstructing justice.
Montreia Barney, 50, of Spanish Fork, was originally charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old, a third-degree felony, and obstructing justice, a class A misdemeanor, but was acquitted on the sex charge by a jury in April. She was convicted, however, of the obstruction charge.
Fourth District Judge Thomas Low sentenced her to 12 months probation. Barney was also ordered to complete 120 hours of community service and pay a fine of $793.
It was alleged that the woman engaged in a relationship with a former student during the summer of 2010, while she was a finance secretary at Mount Nebo Junior High School, according to the charging documents. Prosecutors said the case involved a student who was in high school at the time the incident allegedly occurred, but had previously attended Mount Nebo Junior High.
Fourth District Judge Thomas Low sentenced Barney to 12 months probation. Barney was also ordered to complete 120 hours of community service and pay a fine of $793.
At the time, Barney was 47 and the student was 16. But a jury found that Barney was not guilty on those charges.
Barney told police she never made any inappropriate phone calls and denied meeting the student outside of school. That led to an obstruction charge because when police confronted Barney with witness accounts, Barney recalled getting lost on her way to a tennis game and turning into a church parking lot where she had a chance meeting with the student for two to three minutes, court documents state.
