Husband faces charges of aggravated assaultA former junior-high-school teacher who was accused of having sexual relations with a 16-year-old boy pleaded guilty to reduced charges on Monday.

Jennifer Candida Gonzales, 33, of Payson, entered guilty pleas in Provo's 4th District Court to two counts of attempted forcible sexual abuse, a third-degree felony. The charges were reduced from forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.

"She just wants to get it behind her," said Mike Esplin, Gonzales's defense attorney. "She's going to accept responsibility for her conduct and try to get on with her life, basically."

A sentencing hearing for Gonzales was scheduled for July 28. Attempted forcible sexual abuse carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison.

Deputy county attorney Mariane O'Bryant said she will wait until she receives a pre-sentencing report from Adult Probation and Parole before making a decision on a sentence recommendation, but she doubts Gonzales will serve any prison time. Gonzales will have to register as a sex offender, O'Bryant said.

"My guess is that she's not going to be a candidate under the [sentencing] matrix for prison. She doesn't have any priors; it's a single victim; it's not a really young child; there was no force that we're aware of. The factors that they would look at, I don't believe she's going to fall into that category," O'Bryant said.

At the time of her arrest, Gonzales was a teacher at Mt. Nebo Junior High School in Payson, where she taught sixth and seventh graders at the school's Cornerstone Unit, an alternative program for students with behavioral problems. The Cornerstone Unit is separate from the rest of the Payson school.

Gonzales was initially placed on paid leave after her arrest, but was fired shortly after, according to Nebo School District spokeswoman Lana Hiskey.

"Once the investigation was pending, she was immediately let go," Hiskey said. "If the verdict would've come back different, then we could've looked at that again. But at the moment it looked like it was pretty secure information."

The teenager involved in the incident was not a student, according to Hiskey. Gonzales had worked at the school since 2005.

Gonzales was arrested in late March. According to an affidavit filed in 4th District Court, Richard Gonzales, the defendant's husband, came home early from work one day and found his wife and the teen downstairs with candles and oils. He told police he saw the teen run into a bathroom while pulling his pants up. His wife, who was topless, pulled her pants up as well, he told police. Police interviewed the 16-year-old boy, who said he gave Jennifer Gonzales a massage, but the two did not have sexual intercourse.

Jennifer Gonzales told police that her husband pointed a 9mm handgun at her and threatened to kill her during the incident. He also pointed his gun at the teen and told him to get out of the house, she told police. Richard Gonzales, 32, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault. A preliminary hearing in his case is scheduled for Thursday.

The couple filed for divorce in May.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.

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