Former Flint teacher faces 25 years to life for having sex with 12-year-old

Submitted by admin on Tue, 12/22/2009 - 20:04.

By Laura Angus | Flint Journal

December 22, 2009, 1:17PM

FLINT, Michigan — Former Flint elementary school teacher Allanah Benton-Wells faces up to life in prison for having sex with a 12-year-old she was supposed to be tutoring around Halloween 2007.

A jury convicted Benton-Wells, 43, on Tuesday of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13, and not guilty of a third count that was added following testimony during the trial.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said she faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. He said the case was difficult because of the child victim, but said the young man “stood up to all the questioning from the defense.”

The victim’s name is being withheld by the Flint Journal to protect his identity.

“I was confident that we had a good, strong case,” said Leyon. “Our victim was very believable, and my trial team was terrific.”

Leyton said, fortunately this case is a “needle in a haystack” because it’s rare for teachers to be predators. See more at http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/12/former_flint_teacher_allanah_b_2.html.