School administrators considered Luke Elbert Dalton a model teacher who often went beyond the norm to help his students.
But now the Honeyville Elementary teacher faces up to 15 years in prison after admitting he molested a boy younger than 14 intermittently for years.Dalton, 56, faces sentencing June 17 after pleading guilty in 1st District Court to one count of sexual abuse of a child, a second-degree felony.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed not to file numerous other abuse charges involving the same victim, who was not a student of Dalton's.
Both Box Elder County Attorney Jon Bunderson and acting Box Elder Superintendent Richard Kimber say they have no evidence the veteran teacher had any inappropriate contact with students.
Dalton, a Tremonton resident who goes by the name "Lee," taught at Snowville, Fielding and Honeyville elementary schools. The fifth-grade teacher has been in the district for 10 to 12 years after moving to Utah from Arizona.
His attorney, Jack Molgard, refused to comment on the charges. Dalton was booked into the Box Elder County jail and released on his own recognizance. He was ordered to have no contact with children younger than 18.
Bunderson said the abuse came to light during a counseling session with the boy, who is now 14.
The abuse occurred over many years in a series of groupings, Bunderson said. Dalton would abuse the child and then stop for a period of time. The boy reported the abuse after a recent molestation, Bunderson said.
Kimber said Dalton was suspended without pay as soon as the district heard of the allegations.
Dalton, who apparently knew the allegations were about to be made public, walked out of the classroom March 31 and told students and the principal he would not be back, Kimber said.
Kimber began termination proceedings Tuesday. Dalton's firing will be effective from the date the allegations were reported, he said.
After his court appearance, Kimber gave Dalton a letter from the State Office of Education asking the teacher to voluntarily surrender his teaching certificate. If he does not, the state will began proceedings to revoke his certification.
"I know him quite well," Kimber said. "In the classroom, he's an excellent teacher who enjoys working with kids. He's helped kids get positive self-esteem, particularly special education kids."
Kimber said Dalton battled hard to keep a special education student in regular class rather than send him to special education teachers.
While a teacher at Snowville Elementary, Dalton worked with the Parent-Teacher Association to take students on trips to Yellowstone National Park where he taught them about the park's geology and ecology, Kimber said.
"I think he's sincerely interested in kids," he said.
Kimber said he was not aware of any problems with Dalton.
"There have been problems of pushing district policy that were not necessarily related to this," Kimber said. Dalton, a pilot, wanted to take students on flights as a reward for good behavior, Kimber said.
"The parents supported him but we prohibited it," he said. "Parents and Dalton were angry with us."