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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Live updates from day 3 of ex-SouthTech teacher Damian Conti's sex abuse trial
WEST PALM BEACH — Prosecutors continue to present their case against a former SouthTech Academy teacher accused of sexually abusing his student and aiding her suicide attempt. Damian Conti, 37, maintains that his relationship with the 16-year-old was never sexual. He turned down 10- and 25-year plea offers ahead of this week's trial, opting instead to risk the 65-year maximum he faces if jurors convict him as charged. The trial began Tuesday and is expected to last through Monday. Prosecutors have called several witnesses to testify, including a classmate who discovered explicit texts Conti sent the teen, and a Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy who informed Conti that the girl's suicide attempt failed. He "didn't appear to like" that, the deputy said Thursday. Day 1 updates: Student describes gifts, grooming and daily sex abuse at ex-SouthTech teacher's trial The lengthiest and most graphic testimony came from the student who said Conti groomed, isolated and sexually abused her almost daily during the 2023-24 school year. She remained composed throughout her two-day time on the witness stand but collapsed and wept once it concluded. Jurors, dismissed from the courtroom minutes earlier, did not see her fall. Once prosecutors rest their case, Conti's team of public defenders will begin presenting their own. Assistant Public Defender Lily Boehmer has begun to portray the girl not only as a willing participant but as an instigator of the relationship Conti maintains was strictly emotional. "They pushed the boundary, but they never crossed it," Boehmer said Tuesday. Lewd text messages prosecutors read aloud Thursday suggested otherwise. Follow along for updates throughout Friday's proceedings. Day 2 updates: Jury hears texts sent from SouthTech teacher Damian Conti to student This story will update. Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@ Help support our journalism and subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Live updates: Day 3 of Damian Conti's student sex abuse trial begins
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
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@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Live updates: Day 2 of Damian Conti's student sex abuse trial begins
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
'He wanted her dead': Jury hears graphic testimony in trial of teacher accused of sex abuse
Editor's note: This story contains descriptions of an attempted suicide and child sexual abuse that readers may find disturbing. WEST PALM BEACH — A former SouthTech Academy student walked into court wearing the high heels her teacher once told her not to. He preferred pigtails, no makeup and flats — anything that didn't make her look like a woman, she said. Now 17, she pointed to Damian Conti, the former AP English teacher who she says sexually assaulted her "almost every day." Conti, 37, is on trial for four counts of unlawful sex between a student and teacher and one of attempted assisted suicide. Prosecutors say he groomed and assaulted the girl over the course of the 2023–24 school year, then drove her to hang herself after his crimes were exposed. Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies found the teen hanging from a noose after school officials discovered inappropriate messages between the teacher and student. Deputies cut the rope and resuscitated her before taking her to the pediatric intensive care unit of St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where she slowly recovered. "He wanted her dead," Assistant State Attorney Alexa Ruggiero said June 24. "You'll see that when he's given the good news of her being alive still, you'll see and hear just how disappointed he is."' Ruggiero told jurors that Conti exploited his position of trust, slowly escalating the relationship from school emails to explicit Instagram messages and secret meetings for sex in secluded parking lots off campus. The prosecutor said he isolated his student from her friends and family, showered her with gifts and sent texts so explicit the jurors cringed. Conti's lead attorney, Assistant Public Defender Lily Boehmer, disagreed. She said the teacher had an inappropriate emotional connection with his student but never a sexual one. They said "I love you," she said. They talked every day. They went to the beach and drew hearts in the sand. They bought one another coffee, ran errands together, sent explicit messages to each other and "even kissed." "They pushed the boundary," Boehmer said. "But they never crossed it." She argued that the inappropriate messages discovered on the girl's phone caused authorities to jump to the wrong conclusion. As for why Conti admitted to sexually abusing the girl during his arrest, Boehmer said he was "willing to do and say anything" to protect the girl. Prosecutors said the opposite was true. They pointed to surveillance-camera footage of Conti accompanying the girl through a Home Depot near Lake Worth Beach where she bought enough rope to end both of their lives. The girl testified that she planned for the two of them to drive to a secluded area to hang themselves, though Conti told her repeatedly not to do it. Conti "said he didn't want to get charged with my murder," the girl testified. After she bought the rope anyway, she said he told her he wanted to go home to give his children a final goodbye. He remained in the Home Depot parking lot while she drove away with the rope. "I remember putting my head through the noose. I remember the rope holding me from the ground," she said. "I was dangling from the ground. I was losing oxygen." The last thing she said she remembers were her silent prayers for forgiveness. The girl testified from 11:30 a.m. until nearly 3 p.m., with a one-hour break in the middle, before prosecutors concluded their direct examination. Boehmer began her cross examination by alerting jurors to an ongoing civil lawsuit between the teen's family and SouthTech Academy. In the suit, the girl's parents accuse school administrators of turning a blind eye to Conti's conduct toward their daughter. "If you win the lawsuit, it's your understanding that you and your family will get a monetary gain?" Boehmer said. "Specifically, you and your family are asking for upwards of $75,000 in damages?" The teen said yes. Boehmer tried several times to ask the girl whether the outcome of Conti's criminal trial would affect the outcome of the civil lawsuit, but Circuit Judge Howard Coates struck the question each time as irrelevant. Boehmer moved on. She instead asked the teen to confirm whether she was the first to share her cellphone number with Conti, whether she was the first to kiss him on the cheek, whether she called Conti "Baby," "Sweet angel," "Sweet pea" and "Babe" in her messages to him. The girl agreed. This was a "relationship without a label," Boehmer said. She used that word — relationship — easily, though it had caused prosecutors to apologize each time they said it before her. "He never threatened you to have sex?" Boehmer asked. "He never physically pinned you down to force himself upon you? He never bribed you to have sex?" The girl said no to each. Coates paused the cross examination shortly before 4 p.m. and sent the jury home for the day. The girl will return to the witness stand when the trial resumes June 26. Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: SouthTech Academy student describes sex abuse by teacher Damian Conti
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Congratulations Class of 2025! SouthTech Academy graduation photos
Congratulations, class of 2025! It's that time again for the sound of "Pomp and Circumstance" as high school seniors at SouthTech Academy collect their diplomas at the school's graduation ceremony, held Wednesday, May 14, at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Years of hard work in the classroom and commitment to learning even as the pandemic turned the world upside down characterize this year's senior class. Among them are entrepreneurs, award-winning inventors, standout athletes, and published authors. They will take their next steps in the world as technology and artificial intelligence advance at lightning speeds, and the last four years of their lives have taught them how to adapt no matter the circumstances. ➤ Capturing high school graduations: The Palm Beach Post photographs your graduations because we're proud, too ➤ Congratulations Class of 2025! Graduation galleries from Palm Beach County schools Want more education news? Sign up for our Extra Credit weekly newsletter, delivered every Friday to your inbox. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Class of 2025 SouthTech Academy graduation photos
International Business Times
24-04-2025
- International Business Times
Florida Teacher Who Sexually Assaulted a Student, Made Suicide Pact with Victim and Helped Her Buy Rope to Hang Herself
SouthTech Academy teacher Damian Conti accused of having sex with a teen student is facing additional charged after investigators found he also made a suicide pact with the 16-year-old girl and helped her pick out a rope to hang herself. As reported by The Palm Beach Post, Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies found the teenager hanging from a tree behind a church less than an hour later. Fortunately, deputies cut the rope and resuscitated her before rushing her to the St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where she later recovered. Conti Accompanied the Student to Hardware Store, Helped Her Pick Out Rope, Chain to Commit Suicide Conti, 36, who was originally charged with several counts of unlawful sexual activity with a child, now faces an additional count of attempting to assist in self-murder. Prosecutors added the charge on April 16. Conti has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Conti was seen accompanying the student to a Home Depot near Lake Worth Beach as she picked out 30 feet of rope and 15 feet of chain. She told an employee she was building a tree house. She told Conti it was for the both of them to commit suicide. Hours later, the girl was in the emergency room. Intubated and comatose, she appeared in such grave condition that a deputy said her mother nearly fainted when she saw her. Conti Groomed the Teen, Then Sexually Assaulted Her in Parking Lots, Classroom and In-Storage Closets on Campus According to investigators, Conti began communicating with the student over school email, text and Instagram in August 2023. He then started meeting the after school hours near her locker, gave her driving lessons, visited her at work and even offered to be her academic mentor. He gave her gifts and encouraged her to join the volleyball club he coached. Not long after, investigators say he had begun creating excuses to remove her from volleyball practice and take her into his classroom alone. The student said he confided in her about his work and home life and encouraged her to vent her own frustrations. The girl said Conti told her he "liked her" in October 2023. She said he then began to assault her sexually, first in a shopping plaza parking lot and then in his classroom and in storage closets on SouthTech's campus in Boynton Beach. Both Conti and the girl told deputies that their last sexual encounter occurred on Feb. 5, 2024 — the same day as his wedding anniversary, according to the divorce paperwork his wife filed three weeks later. Investigators Found Thousands of Explicit Messages Between Conti and the Student In addition to his admission of performing sex acts on the girl, investigators uncovered thousands of messages between the teacher and student — many of which the lawyers said contained "highly inappropriate and/or explicit sexual content." During a hearing in October, prosecutors offered the former teacher a chance to plead guilty in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence — a fraction of the penalty he'll face if he maintains his innocence and is convicted at trial. Conti rejected the offer. He rejected a 10-year offer before that one, too. His refusal put his case on track for a jury trial scheduled to begin June 23.
