Teacher Facing Sex Charges 'Emotionally Distressed,' Attorney Says

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Students Plan To Sue School District Over Handling Of Sex Scandal
Stakeout Leads To Teacher-Student Sex Charge

TAMPA - A high school teacher whom police say had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy has been hospitalized because of emotional distress, her attorney said today.

Christina Butler

Tampa police on Oct. 23 charged Christina Butler, 33, a special-education teacher at Middleton High School, with felony lewd and lascivious battery.

Free on $7,500 bail, Butler has been hospitalized since Thursday, her attorney, Tom Fox of Tampa, said today. He declined to say where she is being treated.

"She is very emotionally distressed over this to the point she has had to be hospitalized," Fox said. "She's simply emotionally devastated by the whole situation. She's got family and friends who love her and care about her."

Fox did not discuss the allegations but said there could be problems with statements Butler made to police last week based on her "long history of mental disorders."

Police said Butler confirmed the three-week relationship with the teenager after officers pulled over the 16-year-old joyriding with his friends in Butler's Jeep Grand Cherokee.

"She made a statement to the police. That statement is subject to closer scrutiny based on her mental health status," Fox said.

Fox would not say what his next step is but asked the public not to judge Butler harshly before "all the facts come out."

"There's going to be more to the story than what's been brought out," Fox said. "She's got a story to tell, and we want to have an opportunity to tell it. We have to have time to develop all the information in detail."

Butler's case has drawn widespread media attention since her arrest, in part because of photos posted online speculating that she worked as an exotic dancer at a Washington, D.C., nightclub seven years ago. Fox said he does not know whether the woman in the pictures is his client.

Since Butler's arrest, the 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl who reported the sexual relationship to school administrators and was later suspended for gossiping have filed letters of intent to sue the school district.

A former substitute teacher, Butler began working full time at Middleton in August, the school district said. She is classified as a special-education teacher, but she does not work with severely disabled students. She had several classes of 15 to 20 students who follow the regular curriculum but need tutoring, the district said.

The school district suspended Butler with pay until the school board can meet to determine her employment status. The next school board meeting is Nov. 6.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.