Former teacher pleads guilty to sex assault

AUBURN —A former substitute teacher at Leavitt Area High School in Turner pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a student and agreed to spend a year in jail.

Seth Prideaux, 22, of Lewiston is scheduled next week for sentencing in Androscoggin County Superior Court on one count of gross sexual assault. The felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.

He has agreed to a four-year sentence with all but one year suspended, a prosecutor said. He also would spend four years on probation after his release from jail.

Prideaux would be required to register with the state for 10 years as a sex offender. He also would receive treatment as a sex offender, be evaluated for substance abuse and follow recommendations of the examiners. He would be barred from possession or use of alcohol or illegal drugs. He also must avoid contact with females under the age of 16 or 18, depending on which age the prosecutor and defense attorney agree.

Prideaux was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of gross sexual assault and one count of furnishing liquor to a minor stemming from an incident in January when police responded to his home to find the parents of the 15-year-old student yelling in Prideaux's driveway. Her father told police his daughter had admitted to having sex with Prideaux. He reportedly told police he had sex with the girl three times during the two previous days.

He taught French as a long-term substitute at SAD 52, which includes Greene, Leeds and Turner. School officials said his name had since been removed from the school's substitute teacher list.

He has been free on $1,500 cash bail. A prosecutor had asked last month that his bail be revoked after Prideaux was found passed out in a parked car in Bar Harbor. One of his conditions of bail was no possession or use of alcohol.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com

 

 

 

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Comments

GreenEVAW's picture

Before I make some responses

Before I make some responses on some of these comments I want to state that what Seth Prideaux did is in violation of the current law and he shouldn’t have put himself in the position to be involved in this situation.
Ok, now...
Crystal1982-
-You think what happened between Seth and the 'victim' is sick? Seriously? Well, I have to admit that if this is sick to you then-
1. You don’t know the situation all that well and you probably shouldn’t be commenting on things that you have no idea what you are talking about
2. If sex is sick to you then you probably need to grow up and get out more (kind of pathetic).
3. What’s wrong with him? If you honestly think that there is something wrong with a 22 year old young man attracted to a younger girl, of which was initiated by her advances, then you need to open your eyes to the real world, it happens all the time. Plus it’s not like her lured her in with the promise of candy and going to the play ground, she on her own will and desire went to his house and stayed there for a couple nights. She was attracted to him and had a friendship with him from previous contact outside of the classroom. So for this to be sick to you there must be something wrong you. I could understand if it was a 40 year old teacher and one of his middle school students, but not in this case. So stop commenting on things just because you have no life and never had someone attracted to you in high school :(

- Tightlines-
- You make me laugh, a product of his upbringing'? HAHA, you obviously don’t know Seth and his family. What part of his upbringing had an effect on his decision? What evidence do you have to support this claim? Yes, Seth may have had a lapse in judgment, but to attack his family and upbringing as a cause, well then you my friend are pathetic. Now, you see how I didn’t have to blame your upbringing for your lack of judgment and/or intelligence?
Additionally, how do you feel that the girl and her family are worse off than Seth and his family due to this situation? Hmmm, let’s ponder this. So a young man who had a lot of promise, who was a SUBSTITUTE teacher at the time (mind you he had a friendship with this girl before his last subbing stint) makes a mistake that really doesn’t affect anyone at all except for his family (because of the big deal that this story has become), and her parents (for dropping her off at his house and then get pissed off (smoooooth move)). So, since everyone blew this whole story up to make him look like a sexual deviant, the chances of him being able to a productive member of this society is greatly reduced, his life as he knew it and planned it to be will be forever out of his reach. So I don’t see how you can feel worse for the girl and her family then Seth and his family. She will be able to be whatever she wants to be, this situation will not affect her life any further, and she still has her future. The only one who will have continued effect on their life from here on out with be Seth and his family. So if you want to explain to me how you feel worse for the girl and her family I am eager to hear your reasons.
- MeinMaine-
- Do you honestly think that a 15/16 year old is actually a child? That’s hilarious; you must be old and forgetful. So if a 15/16 year old went and shot your family in the head you would want them to be tried as a minor and be released back into society at 18? That they didn’t know what they were doing because they are a child? I didn’t think so. I know your old but do you remember if you had the ability to decide what you wanted or didn’t want at 15/16?
- You think that Seth got off easy? So you think that a year in prison, 3 years probation, and 10 years on the sex offender registry is easy? You must have experienced so many hardships in your life to view that as easy. So Seth can’t finish college and have a future, real easy. Seth has to notify all those that he is on that list, which sounds easy to me. Seth has to be in prison with real convicts, sounds easy. 3 years of probation where he has to notify all what he is doing, he can’t go out with his friends and enjoy his early 20’s, yeah that sounds easy because you can just get that back.( p.s. I’m assuming that you didn’t pick up on it, but I was being sarcastic). And IF you had a little girl you would want to know about him? For real? You think he is hanging around Chuck E Cheese waiting to lure your hypothetical daughter away and sexually abuse her? That makes me laugh. You don’t have a daughter and I’m sure there is a reason why you don’t. I’m guessing it’s because she would probably grow up and make stupid assumptions and comments like her parent.

-Ok, Yes Seth shouldn’t have put himself in this situation and should have known better that something like this would get out and people would freak out. But why does Seth have to be on the registered sex offenders list? Can anyone please explain this to me? You take a young man who is in college, a promising career, and that would be an addition to society, and you put him on this list that will gratefully hinder his chances of doing anything other than being persecuted from narrow minded people( many of these people can be seen posting below this comment and I’m assuming above it as well because I’m sure they have plenty of free time to comment and share their worthless opinions), and probably not have a future that was anywhere’s close to what could have been. How does throwing this young man in jail and placing him on the sex offenders list for 10 years, who has no prior convictions and is know by all those who know him and a benevolent pacifist who studies philosophy and language, benefit society? What purpose does it serve? Do you really think that society needs to be protected from him? That parents should shun their kids from even being in the vicinity of him? I don’t think so, I think that the justice system was on a witch-hunt (esp. the DA) and wanted to make an example of him, there were other ways to punish him, But by destroying his future and hinder his ability to be a productive member of society is equally as wrong. Now we have to use tax-payers money to keep him in jail and to watch over him for the next ten years, yeah that makes sense. To sum it all up, yes he was wrong, but how wrong is it? Does the action deserve the punishment? Nope I don’t, and I welcome all to respond to my comments.

twitch's picture

I didn't say he did nothing

I didn't say he did nothing wrong...he SHOULD have known better. I just don't agree that he is a sexual deviant (child molester/rapist/pervert etc.). He failed to recognize that his position created a power differential that could not be overlooked in ANY type of relationship he might have chosen to have with a student of his (even simple friendship would have crossed that boundary). What he did was unethical and also illegal in that there was a significant age difference. I have issue with the fact that he is now a registered sex offender...placing "non-deviants" on the list jeopardizes the existence of the list.

wingnut56's picture

When he's 100, she'll be 93.

When he's 100, she'll be 93. What's the big deal?

verified

He was in a position of

He was in a position of authority and misused it. You can't tell me he thought this girl, in the school he was teaching at, was old enough for what he had in mind. If people think they may have a problem with their sexual desires, then maybe they should find a job that isn't so tempting for them. There are other things he could have done, but he chose to put himself in this position. I agree that the girls of today look alot older in the way they are allowed to dress, but looking at a persons face should tell you if they look too young. Most people still in school are usually way too young and should be considered jail bait...what is wrong with this world??????oh and BIG DADDY 40 years ago that was not the marrying age..what planet are you from????I graduated 40 years ago and 15 year olds were not getting married. Only if you were from the backwoods where they don't know any better....

verified

He was in a position of

He was in a position of authority and misused it. You can't tell me he thought this girl, in the school he was teaching at, was old enough for what he had in mind. If people think they may have a problem with their sexual desires, then maybe they should find a job that isn't so tempting for them. There are other things he could have done, but he chose to put himself in this position. I agree that the girls of today look alot older in the way they are allowed to dress, but looking at a persons face should tell you if they look too young. Most people still in school are usually way too young and should be considered jail bait...what is wrong with this world??????oh and BIG DADDY 40 years ago that was not the marrying age..what planet are you from????I graduated 40 years ago and 15 year olds were not getting married. Only if you were from the backwoods where they don't know any better....

big daddy's picture

What he done was wrong, but

What he done was wrong, but the girl and her parents are just as to blame. How the times have changed 40yrs. ago it was the norm for marriages to be of that age. We look at it different if it was a woman who done it remember that.

tightlines's picture

Here is a case where this

Here is a case where this young man is a product of his upbringing. It does not excuse this teacher's action by any means, what he did was wrong and now he must pay for the crime. Sad situation all around, especially for the young lady and her family.

Bravosixalpha's picture
verified

A tragic end to a promising

A tragic end to a promising career, and a life.

Bravosixalpha's picture
verified

A tragic end to a promising

A tragic end to a promising career, and a life.

MeinMaine's picture
verified

Whether he thinks he was

Whether he thinks he was "coerced" or not, he was a teacher in a position of authority. He was not approached on the street by some stray "oversexed" teenager lying about her age. This CHILD, which is what she is, went to the school that he was teaching at. At 15/16 years old, whether the sex was consentual or not, it was illegal. He's getting a bigger break through the legal system than he should be. And as far as him having to register as a sex offender, perhaps there should be different catagories on the registry, but if I had a little girl I would want to know about him. He did the crime, knowing thats what it was, let him do the time.

my2cents's picture

Twitch I agree with you,

Twitch I agree with you, each situation is different. What about all those 14,15,16 yr old girls who dress themselves up like they are in thier mid to early 20's and lie about thier age? then go out looking for older guys....next thing you know some guy is being charged with a crime because he was with someone who lied about thier age. Some of these girls need to own part of the responsability in this. I'm not trying to make light of sexual assault or abuse by all means, but there are situations exactly like this where these teen girls are out for the older guys and in that case it is not fair to the young men.

my2cents's picture

Twitch I agree with you,

Twitch I agree with you, each situation is different. What about all those 14,15,16 yr old girls who dress themselves up like they are in thier mid to early 20's and lie about thier age? then go out looking for older guys....next thing you know some guy is being charged with a crime because he was with someone who lied about thier age. Some of these girls need to own part of the responsability in this. I'm not trying to make light of sexual assault or abuse by all means, but there are situations exactly like this where these teen girls are out for the older guys and in that case it is not fair to the young men.

my2cents's picture

Twitch I agree with you,

Twitch I agree with you, each situation is different. What about all those 14,15,16 yr old girls who dress themselves up like they are in thier mid to early 20's and lie about thier age? then go out looking for older guys....next thing you know some guy is being charged with a crime because he was with someone who lied about thier age. Some of these girls need to own part of the responsability in this. I'm not trying to make light of sexual assault or abuse by all means, but there are situations exactly like this where these teen girls are out for the older guys and in that case it is not fair to the young men.

T's picture

Not all hardcore, militant,

Not all hardcore, militant, right-wing Conservatives agree with you Hakim.

http://www.therumfordreporter.com/

twitch's picture

"what is wrong with

"what is wrong with him!"...he's 22 years old. He's not a pervert. he should not have had sex with a 15 yr old but it certainly did not sound like it was coerced. this man's life if now ruined because he couldn't keep it in his pants when he was around an oversexed teenager...avoiding these pit falls should be part of every teacher education program and a requirement of school districts for staff training. i appreciate the sex offender registry and I want it to stay in place...this type of offender is not what it is for and puts the entire registry in jeopardy.

crystal1982's picture

This is just sick! What is

This is just sick! What is wrong with him!

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