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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
ROOSEVELT — A former schoolteacher in Duchesne County is accused of having an illegal relationship with a 16-year-old girl while he was still a teacher.
Noah Christopher Behunin, 33, was charged Feb. 8 in 8th District Court with unlawful sexual conduct with a 16-year-old, a second-degree felony. He was scheduled to make an initial appearance on Monday, but that hearing was postponed until March 20, according to court records.
Behunin was an automotive instructor at the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College. The activity happened on Dec. 5 and Jan. 3, according to charging documents.
A search warrant affidavit unsealed Monday indicates that a "16-year-old female juvenile … stated that she had sex with … Noah Behunin, who is a schoolteacher."
The girl told investigators that they had sex three times since the beginning of the year in a camp trailer Behunin was living in that was parked on the property of one of Behunin's co-workers. The last time was on Feb. 4, according to the affidavit.
The president of the school told the Uintah Basin Standard that Behunin was employed at the time of the alleged incidents, but he was fired prior to being arrested.
Behunin is the latest in a string of recent teacher arrests in Utah for alleged illegal conduct with teens.
- Sarah Lindsay Lewis, 27, of Payson, a teacher at Landmark High School in Spanish Fork was charged in January with raping a 17-year-old boy in her home. She was charged with a second count of rape involving another student in February.
- Douglas B. Tate, 69, of Kaysville, who taught part-time at Viewmont High School, was charged in December with multiple counts of rape and sodomy of a 16-year-old girl.
- Brian Dragon, 32, of Herriman, who worked as a U.S. Army recruiter and taught a class at Tooele High School, was charged in December with three counts of raping a student.
