FARMINGTON, Utah, Oct. 3, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A former Davis County high school chemistry teacher has been sentenced to three years to life in prison for abusing a 16-year-old girl.
Douglas B. Tate, 70, of Kaysville, was a part-time chemistry teacher at Bountiful’s Viewmont High School early last school year when officials say he had sexual contact with the teen, who was not a student at the school, but whom me met through an acquaintance.
Tate pleaded guilty to attempted forcible sodomy and attempted object rape, which are both first-degree felonies, and to forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, in exchange for reducing some charges and dropping six others.
One dropped charge was witness tampering, added after Tate texted the girl and told her to delete all evidence from her phone and “Please don‘t say anything,” court documents said.
Judge Michael Allphin on Monday sentenced Tate to prison on all three counts, ordering them to run concurrently, which means Tate will serve a minimum of three years, but could serve a life sentence.
The abuse took place between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1 of 2016, documents state. Tate was placed on paid leave from the Davis School District on Nov. 22, 2016, a district spokesman said. Tate resigned about a week later.
