In a strange turn of events, a Fontana high school student who recently pled guilty to a hazing charge is filing a request with the courts to remove his guilty plea. The 18-year-old accepted a plea deal of guilty and was promised to be released from jail if he testified against his teacher. The teacher involved in this case allegedly directed four students at the high school to assault two other classmates. The teacher has pled not guilty and is currently free on bail. The charges of hazing that the student originally pled guilty to were attempted sexual penetration by a foreign object and assault with a deadly weapon. He was released from jail after testifying against his teacher. If convicted of these charges in a trial setting, the teenager could have been put in prison for four years.
The plea deal would have allowed him a sentence of three years’ felony probation and 180 days in the county jail that he was allowed to serve on the weekends. Now that the teenager is requesting a reversal of his guilty plea, it is uncertain what will happen with the remainder of this case. The judge will have to decide by September 6th of this year. The teacher is also still expected to appear in court to face his five felony charges, one of them being false imprisonment. Many believe that the student is wrongfully suffering the brunt of the penalties while the real culprit, the teacher, is getting off. The teacher has an overwhelming support base from students, parents and his coworkers alike, despite his allegations. This hazing crime is a felony, and since the hazing was sexual in nature, it could warrant a sex offender status which would drastically affect the course of this student’s life. The teacher would also never be able to teach again.
