Last March, 27-year-old sixth grade teacher Brittany Zamora was arrested after the parents of a 13-year-old boy found nude images and explicit material on his phone. After an investigation, police discovered that Zamora engaged in a sexual relationship with the boy, her student at Las Brisas Academy in Goodyear, Arizona.
Between February and March, Zamora, who is married, allegedly had sex with the teen at least four times. On one occasion, she allegedly performed a sex act on him in her car, while on another they engaged in sexual activity on school grounds, in her classroom. For one tryst, the victim claims that she contacted him at midnight, drove to his grandparents' house, and waited for him to sneak out to be with her.
Newly released police documents obtained by KPNX reveal that the teacher bombarded her student with suggestive text messages. One text reads "OMG, I love you," while another reads "Omg lol you're so cute baby." During one conversation, Zamora texted, "I wish you could've stayed after with me." The boy replied, "Me too. I wish I could just hang out with you whenever we wanted."
After one sexual encounter, the boy is said to have sent her a message asking to sleep with her again. Zamora allegedly replied, "I know baby! I want you every day with no time limit... If I could quit my job and [have sex with] you all day long, I would."
The parents of the 13-year-old victim discovered the messages on his phone after installing an app to monitor his activity. Now they have filed a lawsuit against Liberty Elementary School District, as well as Zamora's husband. This lawsuit alleges that Zamora groomed the boy using her school's social media app called Class Craft, on which teachers and students can chat. They are seeking $2.5 million in damages, according to the lawsuit filed last week to Maricopa County Superior Court.
The lawsuit alleges that the school district and Zamora's husband knew about her misconduct more than a month before the parents discovered the abuse. It also alleges that the district is liable because so much misconduct occurred on school property, and using Class Craft, a school district resource.
"Any other school, school district that’s using the application and misusing the application like Liberty School District has the possibility, the potential, for this kind of behavior to occur," stated Steve Weinberger, an attorney representing the family. "Anything can go on under their nose."
Zamora faces 10 counts of sexual conduct with a minor, two counts of molestation, two counts of furnishing sexually explicit material to a minor and one count of public indecency. Last April, she pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Weinberger said this misconduct has been devastating for the victim and his family. "It’s affected him individually," he said. "It’s affected their family dynamic. It’s affected his behavior and his schooling. It’s disrupted his schooling. It’s disrupted his living situation. They had to uproot his family and move."