April Watson, who is on the sex offender registry, will become the new city manager of Jay, Florida. She previously pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual conduct with minors. after which she spent about a year in prison. The victims were students of the school where she taught, USA Today reports.
Current City Manager Eric Seib will leave his post on July 3. Mayor Sean Owens told USA Today that he is aware of Watson's past crimes, but is not familiar with the details of the case. He called her “the best candidate” and said she was “the right person for the job.” The mayor said city residents trust Watson's ability to carry out her duties. The former teacher was unanimously elected by the legislative council of the city with a population of just over 600 people.
The investigation into Watson began after the Santa Rosa School District received an anonymous letter alleging sexual relationships between teachers and students. In August 2009, Watson and her colleague Ashley Burkett were arrested by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office on charges of sexual conduct with students. According to the investigation, cases of their intimacy with 17-year-old teenagers occurred sporadically over four months – from July to October 2007.
At that time, Watson was working as a math teacher at Jay High School – she was 31 years old. Investigators learned from the teenagers' statements that they met with Watson either at her home or at Burkett's home. The teenagers emphasized that they were not students of these teachers, and the contacts themselves did not occur either on school grounds or during school events.
Watson herself explained to investigators that at that time she was in a “crazy period of life” when she was experiencing problems in her relationship with her husband.
The teenagers said the relationship was consensual and that they did not want the women to be punished. However, both women were sentenced to 15 months in prison – their actual sentence was about a year in prison. After this, the women were under house arrest (correctional control), from which they were also released early. They were then given a probationary period.
In a motion to reduce her probation, Watson's attorney cited his client's positive qualities. In particular, he pointed to being married for a long time, raising two children, being involved in the Jay Methodist Church, and attending a Bible study. Watson also completed a sex offender rehabilitation program.
Owens said he is not aware of any restrictions that would prevent Watson from serving as city manager. At the same time, he expressed confidence that she knew about all the current prohibitions and would not allow them to affect her ability to do her job.
