GRIDLEY, Calif. (TCN) — A 46-year-old teacher received the maximum prison term after recently pleading guilty to having sex with a 14-year-old student in her classroom.
The Butte County District Attorney’s Office announced July 18 that a judge sentenced Michelle Solis to four years in state prison for one count of sex with a minor. Solis will also have to register as a sex offender and must not contact the victim for 10 years.
Prosecutors said the victim was Solis’ student in June 2021 when he was in eighth grade at Sycamore Junior High School. Solis reportedly added the young student as a friend on Instagram and began sending him messages shortly before his graduation. According to the district attorney’s office, Solis sent the student four inappropriate photos and had sex with him in her classroom on the day of the victim’s eighth grade graduation.
Gridley Police uncovered Solis’ crimes in October 2023, when a concerned parent notified law enforcement about rumors of explicit photos of Solis being sent among students. Police found additional photos of the defendant on the victim’s phone, as well as their messages.
Officers initially arrested Solis on Nov. 13, 2023, for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of 16.
According to the district attorney’s office, Solis’ attorney argued that she should receive probation, “citing the incident as only ‘one act.'” However, prosecutors sought the maximum term, pointing to the 29-year age gap, as well as Solis’ “position as a trusted community member and a pattern of conduct amounting to ‘grooming.'”
The district attorney’s office also argued that Solis gave the victim “special treatment” and told him to delete their communications.
Solis had reportedly worked as a teacher with the Gridley Unified School District for 20 years.
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