Jennifer Christine Fichter (born December 8, 1984) is an American former teacher who was convicted in Polk County, Florida, United States, in 2015 of sexual battery against three 17-year-old male students.[1][2][3] She was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment.[4]

Jennifer Fichter
Born (1984-12-08) December 8, 1984 (age 39)
United States
NationalityAmerican
EducationPaxon School for Advanced Studies
Alma materUniversity of Florida
OccupationEnglish teacher
Years active2007–2014
Employer(s)Robinswood Middle School (Orange County, Florida), Kathleen High School
Criminal chargeSexual battery
Criminal penalty22 years' imprisonment
Criminal statusConvicted and incarcerated

Early life and career edit

Jennifer Fichter was born on December 8, 1984, and graduated from Paxon School for Advanced Studies in Jacksonville, Florida, in June 2003. She then attended the University of Florida from August 2003 to December 2006 earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in English. She held instructional teaching positions at Robinswood Middle School, Orange County, Florida, from August 13, 2007, to December 19, 2008, when she resigned pending the outcome an investigation for alleged offenses of inappropriate behavior.[5]

Sexual abuse, trial, and sentencing edit

Fichter was hired as an English teacher at Kathleen High School on August 29, 2011, and was paid US$40,530 per year. Fichter was fired by the Polk County School Board on April 22, 2014, after her arrest for sexual interaction with three of her male students, all 17 years old, more than 37 times between August 2012 and April 2014.[6]

As of June 7, 2014, Fichter was being held in the Polk County Jail with a bond set at US$520,000.[7] Fichter was convicted and, on July 2, 2015, was sentenced to 22 years' imprisonment.[8] A Polk County judge called her a predator during sentencing.[9] The sentencing by Judge Glenn T. Shelby was immediately controversial, with the unusually long sentence being reviled by many, especially in Europe.[10][11] Fichter is currently imprisoned in Gadsden Correctional Facility and is scheduled for release on January 19, 2035, when she will be age 50. [12]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Former Florida teacher sentenced to 22 years for having sex with high school students | New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV". Pix11.com. 2015-07-04. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  2. ^ "Florida Teacher Jennifer Fichter Pleads Guilty To 37 Counts In Student Sex Case". Huffingtonpost.com. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  3. ^ "State of Florida v. Jennifer C. Fichter" (PDF). Archive.wtsp.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.[dead link]
  4. ^ Glasser, Eric (2015-07-02). "Lakeland teacher gets 22 years for sex with 3 students". WTSP. Archived from the original on 2015-07-13. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  5. ^ "Orange County Schools – Jennifer Fichter" (PDF). S3.documentcloud.org. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  6. ^ Ledger, John Chambliss The. "Convicted teacher seeks lighter sentence". The Ledger.
  7. ^ Fichter, Jennifer. "Polk County Inmates". www.polksherf.org. Polk County Sheriffs Office. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  8. ^ Glasser, Eric (2015-07-02). "Lakeland teacher gets 22 years for sex with 3 students". WTSP. Archived from the original on 2015-07-13. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  9. ^ "'Predator' teacher Jennifer Fichter gets 22 years for sex with students". CBS News. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  10. ^ Bounds, Holly (2015-07-09). "Europeans supporting former Polk teacher jailed for sex with students". WFLA.com. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  11. ^ Walker, Tori (2015-07-15). "Teacher sentenced to long prison term for sex with teen garners following". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. GateHouse Media. Archived from the original on 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  12. ^ "Inmate Population Information List". www.dc.state.fl.us.