Schoolteacher Pleads Not Guilty to 7 Sex Charges

A Granada Hills High School teacher pleaded not guilty Tuesday to seven felony charges that she had unlawful sex with a 17-year-old special education student last month.

Just before the arraignment in Glendale Municipal Court, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged Florine Maria Strimel, 35, with five counts of unlawful sex with a minor and two counts of oral copulation with a minor.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 7.

If convicted, Strimel, a Glendale resident who was arrested late Friday, could face a maximum sentence of nine years in state prison.

Bail was recommended at $265,000, but a hearing is set for Friday because her Santa Ana-based attorney, William Wooten, wants “a more reasonable number,” such as $50,000.

In seeking the lower bail, Wooten said that Strimel had no criminal record, that on a teacher’s salary she cannot afford the higher figure, that she has a medical condition for which she sees a chiropractor and that she “has no desire to see the gentleman”--referring to the alleged victim.

In a court complaint, Deputy Dist. Atty. Tuppence Macintyre alleged that the felonies occurred between Feb. 13 and 25 at Strimel’s home on Salem Street.

Macintyre urged Judge Daniel Calabro not to reduce the bail amount “given the emotional attachments” and “clandestine manner” in which Strimel and the teenager allegedly met.

She also told the judge that money was transferred from the alleged victim’s bank account to the defendant’s. Neither Macintyre nor Strimel’s attorney would comment on the money transfer or the specifics of the teacher-student relationship.

In the courtroom, Strimel sat handcuffed on the edge of her seat, nervously surveying the judge and the media. She did not speak.

More charges could be filed, authorities said, as Glendale police continue investigating whether Strimel had sexual relations with other minors, including San Fernando Valley high school students.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials have acknowledged that police had investigated Strimel on similar allegations when she was a substitute teacher in 1996 and 1997. No action was taken, district officials said, because the claims were not substantiated.