Former Teacher Admits Sex With Teen Student

A former Trabuco Hills High School teacher pleaded guilty Friday to having sex with one of her students, authorities said.

Prosecutors alleged that art instructor Jill Neu had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy from January through June of last year, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ed Flores said.

In return for her guilty plea to the felony, prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor charge of child molestation and agreed to recommend a sentence of three months in jail and three years of probation. Neu, 34, is scheduled to be sentenced April 14.

Prosecutors pushed ahead with the case even though the student, who is now 17, refused to cooperate, Flores said.

Authorities learned of the relationship from a former girlfriend of the boy, Flores said. The girl discovered a letter Neu had written to the teenager and confronted him about it. When he acknowledged the relationship, Flores said, the girl alerted the school principal.

“Ms. Neu is in a position of trust,” Flores said. “People don’t send their kids to school to have intercourse with the teacher, so this is something that we have to take a stand on, whether the victim is cooperative or not.”