Estimated read time: 4-5 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
UTAH STATE PRISON — On the surface, former Utah high school dance teacher Sarah Lindsay Lewis seems to have all the tools in place that she needs to succeed.
That’s why when Utah Board of Pardons and Parole member Denise Porter listened to Lewis articulate what she needs to do to stay out of trouble when she is released from prison, she said she was “stunned” that she failed to be successful the first time she was placed on probation.
“I know. Me, too. I’m stunned I chose wrong, that I chose drugs over my son and my ability to succeed,” Lewis said in a recording of her parole hearing on June 18.
Lewis was a dance and social studies teacher at Landmark High School in Spanish Fork when she was convicted in 2017 of unlawful sexual activity with a 17-year-old student.
She received a suspended sentence of up to five years at the Utah State Prison and was placed on three years of probation.
Despite seemingly getting a second chance by being placed on probation, Lewis was arrested a year later for selling drugs to juveniles.
In Lewis' car, police found a "substantial" amount of methamphetamine. She told investigators "she was selling approximately 1 ounce of methamphetamine per week to supplement her income," according to court records.
But even after she was charged in July 2018 with drug distribution, Lewis was arrested and charged yet again with the same crime a few months later.
Earlier this year, she was sentenced to one to 15 years at the Utah State Prison.
At her parole hearing, Lewis blamed her initial arrest on marital problems, saying it had damaged her self-esteem.
“I was getting all these validation comments from 17-year-olds. Unfortunately, they’re the wrong people to get validation comments,” she said.
One day, a student said he would like to have sex with her.
“First of all I thought, 'Gross.' Then I thought, 'Whoa, someone actually wants me because my ex-husband didn’t,'” she told Porter.
First of all I thought, 'Gross.' Then I thought, 'Whoa, someone actually wants me because my ex-husband didn’t.'
Lewis communicated with the boy through Snapchat. While she was still married, she invited the boy to her house on Jan. 4, 2017, provided him alcohol and had intercourse with him, according to charging documents.
She and her husband have since divorced. He was present at the parole hearing and said he had new information about his ex-wife he wanted to share with the board, according to the recording. Porter told him to submit it in writing for the full board to consider.
Lewis, who sometimes seemed to talk in a rushed or hurried voice, said her ex-husband is now seeking to have her parenting rights to her son terminated once she is released from prison.
“My son is the reason I wake up in the morning. My son is the reason that I plan to better myself to get out of here to show him no matter what challenges are thrown your way, you can overcome them,” she said while becoming a little emotional.
After she was placed on probation for her conviction of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, Lewis said she lost herself again by not feeling accepted, and didn’t seek help from others. She said that’s when she learned about the world of drugs and saw the money others were making.
“I used drugs less than 100 times probably during the year I was out on my probation. It was more for the selling I was into, to be honest,” she added.
Because Lewis was well prepared for her parole hearing and seemed to have the right answers for all of Porter’s questions, Porter said she was stunned that Lewis made such poor choices.
Before Lewis can be given a release date, she must complete sex offender treatment, which typically takes up to 18 months in prison. Lewis told Porter she preferred to finish her treatment with a private therapist she was seeing before being sent to prison. But she added she was willing to serve as much time as needed.
“It doesn’t matter (how long) I'm given here, I’m OK. I’m OK,” she said, while noting she was ready to “face the challenges of the world.”
Porter then reminded her she was also there to pay a penalty for having sex with a 17-year-old boy and dealing “a good amount of meth.”
The full five-member board voted to hold a re-hearing in December of 2020 and told Lewis to enroll in sex offender rehabilitation before then.
