An Indiana teacher facing criminal charges after allegedly having sexual contact with her students blamed her troubles on a 150-pound weight loss.
Brittany Fortinberry, 31, faces several charges including three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, dissemeniation of matter harmful to a minor, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Fox 59 reported. Police believe she had sex with at least one student and possibly as many as 10 students. The investigation is ongoing.
The investigation began in August 2024 after police were contacted by two students who told them they had received "inappropriate" communications from Fortinberry. "It is just bizarre you come to a school, see a teacher and you are supposed to be able to trust them," a student said to police in an interview, according to the station.
When police executed a search warrant on Fortinberry's property they found a stripper pole in her home and various sex toys. The items had been included in some of the messages the students had received, Fox 59 reported.
At that time, Fortinberry told police that she regretted losing 150 pounds of weight because if she hadn't lost the weight, she wouldn't be having these problems.
Among the things she communicated to the students was that she "dreamed" of having sex with them, CBS-4 reported.
Fortinberry was a substitute teacher with Eminence Community School Corporation. The district said in a statement that "a report was made to the School Corporation that an employee, Brittany Fortinberry, had engaged in inappropriate conduct toward two students. School Administration immediately reported this information to the Indiana Department of Child Services and local law enforcement."
The statement also said that Fortinberry had resigned from the district Aug. 23 and that her employment "immediately ended," CBS-4 reported.
Police have continued to receive reports regarding Fortinberry's past conduct. In December 2024, a grandmother reported that she believed Fortinberry had molested her grandson, who was 15 at the time of the incident. The minor confirmed his grandmother's concerns and said the abuse included out-of-town trips that included him taking showers with Fortinberry, Fox 59 reported.
Originally published on Latin Times
