DOWNTOWN – A former Burbank middle school teacher was sentenced Friday to two years in state prison after turning herself in to authorities for having sex with a 14-year-old student.
Amy Beck, a 33-year-old former English and social science teacher at Jordan Middle School, pleaded no contest March 25 to charges of unlawful sex with a minor. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge also ordered Beck to register as a sex offender for the charges that included one count each of unlawful sex with a minor and performing lewd acts on a minor.
Because of time served, Beck's attorney said she would likely only serve about 10 months in prison.
Beck was originally charged with four counts of unlawful sex with a minor and one count of oral copulation with a minor, and faced up to seven years in prison. All but one of the charges were dropped as part of the plea deal, prosecutors said. A charge was added that required her to register as a sex offender.
Beck, who has remained in custody since March 8, turned herself in to Burbank Police headquarters for allegedly having sex with the boy during a six-month period that ended in September, authorities said.
Burbank Police Sgt. Robert Quesada said the department was unaware of the crime until the mother of three confessed. Beck declined to post $175,000 bail throughout the ordeal, keeping her out of reach of the news media.
Described by school officials as a “well respected and loved” teacher who served on the faculty for roughly 10 years, Beck was one of 19 educators honored by the Burbank Kiwanis in 2008 for outstanding work. In her March 5 resignation letter, described as a two- or three-sentence note, she informed administrators of her immediate resignation.