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FARMINGTON -- Valynne Bowers is one of two former Bountiful Junior High School teachers accused of having sex with the same student; now her attorney is asking the judge to delay the case.
It was rumored that 39-year-old Bowers might accept some sort of plea deal Monday after pleading not guilty to rape and forcible sodomy charges last month. Instead, her attorney asked the judge to postpone the court appearance so a mental evaluation could be done. He wants time for a psychosexual evaluation to be done on Bowers before moving forward with a plea agreement.
Bowers was at Monday's court appearance but refused to say anything about the case or the evaluation. Her attorney says the purpose of the evaluation is to learn more about her psychologically and to determine the sexual risks.
Bowers' attorney Rich Gallegos said, "It's something that assists both the state and the defense in trying to work out what I think would be a fair negation."
Gallegos says he hopes to work out a plea agreement with the Davis County Attorney's Office once the evaluation is done and all the court documents have been reviewed, but he says that it is likely Bowers will face jail time.
"The expectation is that there will likely be some jail time, I would assume, but there are just too many blanks to be filled, too many T's that need to be crossed," he said.
Gallegos also said the public isn't hearing the whole story. "I will say there's a lot more to this case," he told reporters.
Monday, Gallegos pointed out Bowers will face less jail than the other teacher involved in the crime because the victim in her case was 14 when the sexual acts occurred.
The other teacher, 46-year-old Linda Nef, is also facing two felony charges: rape of a child and forcible sodomy with a child. Gallegos says the penalty for her actions are more severe because the victim was only 13 during the affair.
Bowers will appear back in court on May 4. At that time, the details of the plea negotiation are expected to be revealed.
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This story was compiled with contributions from Shara Park and Mary Richards
