Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO — A 43-year-old Provo man arrested and charged for allegedly trying to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex, claims he used to trade grades for sex with students when he was a teacher, according to court records.
Stephen Brink was charged June 9 in 4th District Court with one count of enticing a minor, a second-degree felony. Brink arranged to meet with a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl, according to the charges. The "girl" was actually an undercover officer with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Before he was arrested, Brink exchanged online messages with the girl, stating that "what he was proposing could get him in trouble, but that he is very careful," according to two search warrant affidavits unsealed Wednesday.
He then went on to say that he was a former school teacher and had taught in three states, including Utah, the warrant states.
"In the chats, Stephen stated that he had exchanged sex acts for grades with a 14-year-old female student, and had engaged in sex acts with her on several other occasions, and had also had sex several times with a 15-year-old female student. Some of these sex acts occurred in classrooms and some in his residence," the affidavit stated.
"He described in graphic detail prior sexual encounters he had with students," according to charging documents.
On Wednesday, the Utah County Sheriff's Office confirmed there was an active investigation into those claims. The sheriff's office declined to say what schools they were investigating.
According to Brink's LinkedIn page, he taught at Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School from August 2014 to June 2015; was a substitute teacher in the Davis School District from August 2013 to June 2014; a substitute teacher at Legacy Preparatory Academy from October 2012 to May 2013; and a teacher at American Preparatory Schools for three months in 2012.
Alan Sparrow, head of Rowland Hall, said Wednesday that Brink taught Latin at the school for one year. During that time, "we observed no behavior of this type" and "nothing was reported to us of any nature of that at all."
Sparrow said the school has sent emails to all parents of students who had Brink to inform them of his current situation.
Brink also told the undercover agent that he used to work with a teacher who was now in prison for having sex with students, as well as a second teacher who was in jail for investigation of the same charges.
Brink was arrested June 2 when he arranged to meet whom he thought was the girl at a park in Provo.
According to court records, Brink's wife filed for divorce in 2015.
