Boy Has Sex With 2 Teachers

Two teachers at Bountiful Jr High School in Utah have been arrested for having sex with the same 13-year-old boy, a student of the same school. The Davis County Attorney's Office filed first-degree felony charges of rape and sodomy on a child against Linda Richins Nef, 46, and Valynne Asay Bowers, 39.

Linda Nef, a Utah Studies teacher and Cheerleading Adviser, and Valynne Bowers, a Math teacher, each confessed to having sex with the student, said Bountiful Police Lt. Randy Pickett. Linda Nef was booked and released from the Davis County Jail while Valynne Bowers was booked into the Davis County Jail and held on $20,000 bail.

“Nothing happened at the school. Everything happened at various places in Bountiful, Woods Cross, Kaysville and Farmington,” Pickett said. “Some were parks. Others were private homes, but I don’t know whose homes.”

Linda Nef has resigned. She had been with the Davis County School District since 2004. She was first hired at Taylor Elementary School as a Physical Education Specialist. She had also been working part-time at Bountiful Junior High since March 2005, where she taught Utah Studies and was a Cheerleading Adviser. Her first court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. March 27.

Valynne Bowers is on administrative leave as a result of the charges. She has taught in the district since 1996 and was an elementary school teacher for nine years before she transferred to Bountiful Junior High in 2006 where she teaches math. She is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on March 16.

The boy, now 14-years-old, is in the care of his parents. The Division of Child and Family Services is also involved in the investigation. According to Lt. Randy Pickett, the boy and each teacher began discussing personal problems; that led to text messages, including ones involving sexual matters; then phone sex and then the alleged sexual assaults. The relationship with Linda Nef began in Oct. 2007 and lasted until Dec. 2008. The relationship with Valynne Bowers began in Dec. 2008.


It was Linda Nef who went to the police with her lawyer:

“(Thursday) we did an interview involving (Nef),” Pickett said. “She came in with her attorney and admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old boy who was one of her students. ... She disclosed that Bowers was having sex with the same student.”

The boy was interviewed next, Pickett said.

“So we finished the interview with her and because we needed to check out parts of her story, we did not arrest her then,” Pickett said. “We came back and interviewed the boy, who is now 14, by the way. He admitted to having sex with the two female teachers.”

Investigators were still not done.

“After that, then it was 9 o’clock (Thursday) night. We went to interview Bowers at her home,” Pickett said. “She admitted to having sex with this student. There was nothing we needed to follow up with her, so we arrested her and booked her into jail.”

Deputy Davis County Attorney Richard Larsen said the teachers held a position of special trust over the child, a fact that enhanced the charges. “That is the reason for the relationship of trust and why the acts couldn’t be consensual even though it was with a 14-year-old boy,” Larsen said. However, he said they are taking Nef's cooperation with authorities into account.

"I'm sure everybody involved has a desire to get this resolved as quickly as possible," Larsen said. "But we're not in a position where we can discuss plea negotiations. Our opinion is certainly we appreciate the cooperation and we're fully intending to take that into account."