Teacher accused of sex with teen feared for her safety in jail: ‘They’re gonna tear me apart’
A former middle school teacher in Arizona accused of having sex with a 13-year-old student told an officer she was worried about her safety in jail, insisting fellow inmates would “tear me apart,” police bodycam video shows.
The footage, obtained exclusively by KPNX, shows a smiling Brittany Zamora taken into custody by police in March while wearing a dress with a plunging neckline beneath a lacy vest as she drove to Las Brisas Academy Elementary School, where the teen told police that they had oral sex in Zamora’s classroom following a talent show.
The teen also reported at least three other sexual encounters with the married sixth-grade teacher, court records show, including getting intimate in Zamora’s car.
“Can you put my hair in front of my face?” Zamora, 28, asked an officer at a jail in Phoenix following her arrest, referencing the throng of reporters awaiting her arrival.
“We have to go in the door by them, OK?” a female officer told Zamora, whose blonde hair shielded her face as she entered the facility, video shows.
Later, while in an interrogation room, Zamora quickly shut down an investigator’s request for her to explain “why it happened,” telling the officer she had nothing to say without legal representation.
“Can I have an attorney?” Zamora replied.
She also told the officer that she was concerned about her safety behind bars, citing her petite frame.
“I’m little,” Zamora said. “They’re gonna tear me apart.”
The police bodycam videos also contain interviews with the boy’s parents, who said their son lost his innocence during the alleged encounters with Zamora that took place between February and March. Zamora and the teen also traded naked photos, he told police.
“His childhood is already gone,” the boy’s father told police. “He’s 13.”
The boy’s mother told police that her husband flatly asked their son if he had sex with Zamora, prompting him to confirm their worst fears.
“He said, ‘Yes,” the boy’s mother told police, bodycam footage shows.
Zamora’s husband is also seen in videos obtained by the station, saying he supports his wife, but declined to discuss the allegations against her.
“Not gonna discuss it with you,” her husband told police. “Brittany is an adult. She’s the best, the best person I’ve ever known.”
Zamora, who is due back in court in May, has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including felony sexual conduct with a minor and molesting a child.
During a recorded phone call with the parents of the victim, Zamora apologized, telling them that she intended to resign her position. However, she was unable to provide a firm answer as to why the alleged sex assaults happened.
“I ask myself the same question,” Zamora replied, police reports show. “I just got really close after I think everything went down and we’re like, ‘How could that happen?’ … We just got close.”
The teen’s parents, meanwhile, filed a notice of claim in August for a $2.5 million lawsuit against the Liberty Elementary School District, alleging district officials did not properly report the relationship.
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