A Carpinteria teacher was placed on probation — and will have to give up teaching forever — in a plea deal stemming from his arrest for allegedly molesting a 17-year-old high school student, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
Michael George Carey, 42, pleaded guilty last week to a single misdemeanor battery charge, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Paula Waldman.
Carey was arrested at Rincon High School in December 2012 on charges of felony sexual battery and misdemeanor child molestation for allegedly inappropriately touching the female student, according to the county Sheriff’s Department.
Those other charges against Carey “were dismissed at the time of sentencing because they could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” Waldman said, adding that her office, the Sheriff’s Department and the victim were all satisfied with the outcome.
Superior Court Judge William Gordon sentenced Carey to three years of probation, Waldman said.
In addition, Carey must resign from the Carpinteria Unified School District, surrender his teaching credential, and agree never to teach again.
He also was ordered to have no contact with the victim, and to “never engage in any sexual or dating relationship with a person under 18 years of age,” Waldman said.
The incident occurred while Carey was employed as a teacher at Rincon, which is a continuation high school.
“Mr. Carey will never teach again; his inappropriate actions with a student ended his career as a teacher,” Waldman said. “Because we are now assured that Mr. Carey will never teach again, justice has been served and public safety concerns have been adequately addressed.”
— Noozhawk intern Allyson Werner can be reached at awerner@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.