A teacher of the year finalist was sentenced to one year in jail after she admitted to having sex with an 18-year-old student.
Bridgette Doucette-Howell, 40, a former Sanborn Regional High School teacher in Kingston, New Hampshire, admitted to sexually assaulting the student in April and May of 2021 during a court hearing on Tuesday.
She was charged under a new law that does not factor in the age of the student, and instead, holds those in power accountable for the crime.
The unidentified victim did not speak at the hearing, but did submit an impact statement to the Rockingham Superior Court Judge that said he did not want the educator to be criminally charged.
‘I do not wish for Bridgette to be punished under criminal law for our reactions from our unhealthy circumstances of life,’ the student wrote.
Bridgette Doucette-Howell, 40, a former Sanborn Regional High School teacher in Kingston, New Hampshire , admitted to sexually assaulting the student in April and May of 2021
On Tuesday, she was sentenced to one year in jail after being indicted on three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault in March 2022
Despite his opposition to the charges, Doucette-Howell was sentenced to a year in jail.
Under her plea deal, she will only have to spend a minimum of 14 days, pending good behavior, before she is sent on administrative home confinement for 50 weeks.
The assault took place in Kingston and Exeter between April 26 and May 22, 2021 when Doucette-Howell was working as a drama teacher at the school.
In March 2022, she was indicted on three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault for engaging in intercourse, and a lesser count of felonious sexual assault for kissing the student.
Her criminal case was the first to be challenged in the state by the Howie Leung Loophole Law.
The law, which was introduced in January 2021, ‘concentrates on the influence authority figures have on relationships with students instead of the student’s age,’ according to Seacoast Media Group.
It was created in response to a case involving Concord High School teacher Primo ‘Howie’ Leung, who allegedly kissed an adult student in a car.
At the time, without the current state law, Leung was not charged with a crime.
The law also states that the ‘consent of the victim’ is not considered during the defense, and it applies up to 10 months after the students’ ‘graduation or departure.’
The student blamed the final outcome on the way the case was dealt with, and said that Doucette-Howell helped him when he was suffering mentally.
The assaults took place in Kingston and Exeter between April 26 and May 22, 2021 when Doucette-Howell was working as a drama teacher at the school
The student added he and his family were ‘shocked’ that Doucette-Howell was facing criminal charges, and that ‘it should have stayed at the school level’
‘The way the case was handled by the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Department, had more trauma than the case ever did,’ the student wrote.
‘The motives behind the acts accused of (Doucette-Howell), are not only inaccurate, but they don’t describe who Bridgette is.’
‘I needed someone to understand what I was going through, and Bridgette helped me get through those difficult times.’
The student added that he and his family were ‘shocked’ that Doucette-Howell was facing criminal charges, and that ‘it should have stayed at the school level.’
Rockingham County Sheriff Chuck Massahos said that he was pleased with how the case turned out.
‘It was very important to us to see justice was served today,’ Massahos said.
‘We’ve got a lot of hours into this case. I think we had over 400 hours into this case, just working with the state to make sure this case was presented in the right way,’ he added.
Doucette-Howell’s attorney, Kurt Olsen, said that he was also ‘quite pleased’ with the outcome of the plea deal his client received.
In 2016, Doucette-Howell, who was teaching history to special needs students, was recognized as one of eight finalist for the teacher of the year award presented by the New Hampshire Department of Education
Under the deal, Doucette-Howell cannot have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, except for her own children.
She also has to attend mental health counseling with a therapist that is certified by the Association for Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse.
During the counseling, she has to ‘meaningfully comply with all treatment recommendations.’
Once she is released from jail, she is required to register as a sex offender, and if she moves out of state, she has to register there and comply with local laws.
In 2016, Doucette-Howell, who was teaching history to special needs students, was recognized as one of eight finalists for the teacher of the year award presented by the New Hampshire Department of Education.
She previously told the New Hampshire Union Leader: ‘I was a student with a disability, so I understand the struggles that many children face each day in the classroom.’
‘To me, these kids aren’t really special needs, they just learn differently. Everyone learns at their own speed and in their own different way.’
