Live updates from day 2 of ex-SouthTech teacher Damian Conti's sex abuse trial
WEST PALM BEACH — Jurors returned to court Thursday to hear more testimony in the criminal trial of ex-teacher Damian Conti. Accused of sexually abusing his student and aiding her suicide attempt, Conti, 37, faces up to 65 years in state prison.
The teen, revived last year after deputies found her hanging from a noose, testified Tuesday that her SouthTech Academy teacher sexually abused her daily during the 2023-24 school year, often in the back seat of her mother's car. Conti maintains his relationship with the 16-year-old was never sexual.
"They pushed the boundary," Assistant Public Defender Lily Boehmer said during her opening statement. "But they never crossed it."
Boehmer will resume her cross examination of the teen, who testified from 11:30 a.m. until nearly 3 p.m. Tuesday. Follow along for live updates throughout Thursday's proceedings.
Missed day 1? Student recalls daily abuse, suicide attempt on first day of Damian Conti's trial
The girl returned to the witness stand Thursday in the same high heels she wore Tuesday. Conti didn't like when she wore heels, she testified earlier. He preferred pigtails, no makeup and flats — anything that didn't make her look like a woman.
Boehmer began her cross-examination by dissecting the teen's lunch habits. Prosecutors accused Conti on Tuesday of isolating the teen, preying on her alone in his classroom during the girl's lunch period while her classmates ate elsewhere. Boehmer described it instead as a mutual arrangement.
'Mr. Conti is a good cook? And you're a picky eater?' she asked the teen.
'Yes,' the girl responded.
'You both mutually agreed that it was unnecessary for you to continue making lunches for yourself?'
It was his idea, the girl said. But she agreed: The decision was mutual.
Boehmer moved next to the driving lessons Conti gave the girl, and the summer job he encouraged her to apply for. Prosecutors discussed these Tuesday as Conti's tactics to isolate the teen and monopolize her time, but Boehmer framed them in a different light.
'Your response was 'Hell yeah,' " she said, reading aloud from the girl's texts when Conti asked if she wanted the job. The girl agreed.
Under Florida law, the age of consent is 18. Those who are 16 and 17 can legally consent only to a partner younger than 24.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Live updates: Day 2 of Damian Conti's student sex abuse trial begins
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