UPDATE: PHM teacher accused of child seduction appears in court
Brooke Biggs (rear, in white jacket) leaves the courthouse with family members on Monday, October 6, 2008. (WSBT photo) SOUTH BEND — A teacher accused of child seduction made her first appearance in court Monday. Brooke Biggs has been charged with two felony counts of child seduction. A judge entered a plea of not guilty for Biggs Monday; she will enter a formal plea at the next hearing. Biggs, a physical education teacher at Grissom Middle School and a coach at Penn High School, is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old female Penn student. The investigation began in July after the girl’s parents contacted police. According to court documents, the girl’s parents had forbidden their daughter from talking to Biggs and took away her cell phone. But they caught her sneaking out to see Biggs. Court documents allege Biggs bought the girl a new cell phone, and the two exchanged thousands of explicit text messages. Police say Biggs admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with the girl. Biggs and her family had no comment after the proceeding. Friday, Oct 24 at 4:20 PM HA! that guys name is harry james wrote ...I just wanted to say HA! Monday, Oct 13 at 9:12 PM Grissom Student. wrote ...And you all thought she'd be proven guilty. NOT GUILTY! She's such a wonderful person, and teacher or not, I will always love her. She makes mistakes, EVERYONE DOES. Even as a christian i can i say i have, and i know many other people who do. She made a mistake and i'm sure just alone all of you idiots have made her pay enough. And every relationship has two sides of it, That sixteen year old was the other side to it. She should be punished also. She knew what she was doing. We love you Biggs! Friday, Oct 10 at 8:49 AM Anonymous wrote ...You all need to take a look at these words "allegedly confessed" the word allege means assert without proof. People seem to be able to say what ever they want to becareful when you rush to judgment. Thursday, Oct 9 at 10:14 AM anonymous wrote ...Please remember Brooke is innocent until proven guilty. She doesn't need the small minded community putting her in the center of town to be stoned. Please remember she has family/siblings that need to be able live without being attacked. Wednesday, Oct 8 at 11:44 PM Anonymous wrote ...dear harry james, how do you know the sixteen year old had any say in it? Wednesday, Oct 8 at 7:17 AM bee wrote ...its obvious that most of the people making comments on her not guilty plea have never been to court.you do not plead guilty at your first court date for a felony let alone 2 felonies.when you plead guilty you are sentenced right then and there.she wants time to get a lawyer so they have to prove her guilty which she admitted too and also show evidence.then they will reduce her felonies with a plea bargain.this is the court process,for those of you that dont know.it doesnt mean shes not guilty. Tuesday, Oct 7 at 6:14 PM The Professor wrote ...I teach adult students! It's never right to engage in any type of inappropriate behavior with any student!! THE END...... Tuesday, Oct 7 at 2:05 PM Anonymous wrote ...A judge entered a plea of not guilty for Biggs Monday; she will enter a formal plea at the next hearing. In cases like these, that is what judges do. Tuesday, Oct 7 at 1:29 PM C5 wrote ...People are forgetting that there is an extra element that makes this a problem - Biggs was in the role of a teacher/coach, which makes it child seduction, which is a crime if the child is under 18. If Biggs was a neighbor, it wouldn't be a problem, but because of her role in the child's life, it's a crime. A step parent would be in trouble under this as well. Let's not forget that this might have begun when the child was 15 It mostly likely did because of the grooming process.... no consent. Tuesday, Oct 7 at 12:54 PM harry james wrote ...first of all if u dont know someone u shouldnt say bad things about them.look at all the things about how her students and everyone is saying good things about her she is a good person. just because she did this does not make her a horrible persson and it wasnt just her the 16year old had say in it to..and last time i checked 16was the legal age for consent..so back off..hang in there brooke:) Tuesday, Oct 7 at 8:49 AM anon wrote ...So sbcsc has guns and drugs and phm has teachers who are confused about appropriate conduct with students. Wow what a choice. Tuesday, Oct 7 at 8:05 AM steve wrote ...lets get real, if that teacher did what she did to my 16 yr old daughter , i would break her legs... it is completely wrong, what was she thinking... than she buys her a cell phone.... that was real wrong.... put her in jail.... Tuesday, Oct 7 at 7:20 AM Frank wrote ...Ok, let's pick on Biggs all we want, but remember again that she's unmarried, and Chris Woods was married with children during his PHM tryst. The charges in question are when the other young woman was 16, which is, legally, within consent. There are mature 16-year-olds, as there are immature 40-year-olds. It may not be everyone's idea of a perfect age difference, but if it were outside of school, it would be legally acceptable. We owe them the benefit of the doubt. Tuesday, Oct 7 at 7:12 AM why not me wrote ...Hang in there Brooke, You did nothing wrong. There is nothing wrong with what happened, people need to mind their own buisness. The girl was of age and knew full well what she was doing and what would happen. Let them live their lives in peace and let her teach the kids. She didn't do anything to the kids she was teaching and they love her. It is hard to get kids to like their teachers nowadays. Why drag this out and make kids feel all uncomfortable around the teachers. Hang in there Brooke! Tuesday, Oct 7 at 5:19 AM Alan wrote ...If she were a man she would already be under the jail by now!!!! Tuesday, Oct 7 at 3:56 AM lsd wrote ...I really wish the press would stop publishing these comment sections. I does no good, and leads to heartache for the families. People stop giving us your opinions! Try to imagine if one of your family was going through this... Would you want to read this??? I think not! Have some heart and keep your comments to yourselves... Monday, Oct 6 at 11:33 PM Backing Puzzled wrote ...Thank you, thank you, thank you to "Puzzled"!!! Although a 15/16 year old may seem mature this girl I'm sure did not realize that she was being "Groomed" into a relationship with Biggs. Biggs would have had to of had an attraction to this girl and acted on it in order to spark a relationship. I had a crush on my 9th grade math teacher when I was a kid and I know he knew it but nothing came of it because HELLO... IT'S WRONG!!! As an adult and a teacher Biggs knew it was wrong but did it anyway!!! Monday, Oct 6 at 11:24 PM JT wrote ...Sally James.... Open your eyes... This other girl was also 15 years old. Employee of the school the girl attends is a moot point. 15 years old, last time I checked, this is considered a minor and under the age of consent. Monday, Oct 6 at 11:11 PM Puzzled wrote ...Ok lets look at the big picture here. A 27 year old teacher is attracted to a 15/16 year old girl. This in itself is a sickness. What everyone seems to be overlooking is the fact that it does not matter whether or not the student consented there is something not right about a 27 year old wanting a relationship with someone so young. The other thing I find myself wondering is whether or not she has had any relationships with other young girls and no one has come forward yet? Just a thought. Monday, Oct 6 at 10:09 PM common sense wrote ...She isn't denying the charges against her just because she pleaded not guilty. She is pleading not guilty to a FELONY because she probably wants to take a plea bargain for a MISDEMEANOR or try to get a lesser punishment. She still did it. Monday, Oct 6 at 10:00 PM Sally James wrote ...First of all, you can't believe everything you read and certainly not everythng the police "say" happened. The police have a job to do and it is easier if people believe they are right. I also agree with Siege. Biggs has obviously impacted numerous students and others in her life. Making a mistake does not make her any less a good person. Remember this charge is only a crime because she is an employee of the school the girl attends. Monday, Oct 6 at 9:11 PM anon wrote ...CAPS are for idiots! Monday, Oct 6 at 7:30 PM to mom of 2 wrote ...she pleaded not guilty. she didn't lie on the stand under oath. it isn't a jury trial, it is a hearing. moron...notice how the first paragraph reads..."made her 1st appearance in court"... Monday, Oct 6 at 7:05 PM Frank wrote ...To me, this is a private relationship between two consensual, unmarried people. Two things were wrong: it was against the will of the parents, and she was in a position of authority. It is hard to argue any abuse whatsoever. That said, let's remember the married-with-kids Chris Woods, who ran off with a student to Florida, and was caught totally by chance. (He got no punishment.) Let's give Brooke and the other young woman the benefit of the doubt, please. Monday, Oct 6 at 6:30 PM Mom of 2 wrote ...Ummm, whatever, so she lied on the stand... big deal. People do that all the time! Monday, Oct 6 at 5:50 PM Tamara Harris wrote ...May be she is not guilty. She seems to be repented for what she has done. Or is this a set up by some student who was upset for giving her a failing grade then she holds a grudge against this poor teacher then she blows lies to everybody and everyone believes her. There are so many lies that goes around schools that it a shame that students at young age lie with no remorse. The cheating that goes on in classrooms are appauling and then lies after lies. Now if a teacher finds out shes guilty. Monday, Oct 6 at 5:41 PM Anonymous wrote ...TO USMC OR THE PRIDE IN BLUE, ONE OF THE TWO I'M GUESSING. I'M SURE THEY HAVE DONE A COMPLETE INVESTIGATION ON BOTH PARTIES AND DID NOT RUSH TO JUDGEMENT, IAM SURE THATS WHAT HAPPENED OR COULD YOU FEEL US IN ON THAT. Monday, Oct 6 at 5:22 PM Siege wrote ...I too am confused about the not guilty plea if she admitted to an "inappropriate relationship." The victim was only 15 at the time of the offenses, and police have obtained thousands of texts and pics from the cell phone company. To all the students and parents who loved and respected Ms. Biggs: Keep doing so. It sounds like a lot of people have benefitted from the positive things she did. Committing a crime does not make her a horrible person, just makes her a criminal. Monday, Oct 6 at 4:19 PM Anonymous wrote ...um, okay she pleaded not guilty to being guilty, that makes alot of sense. Monday, Oct 6 at 4:01 PM USMC wrote ...To anonymoron. Admitting to the relationship and even all of the details has no bearing on how she pleas in court. She may actually believe that she has done nothing wrong, therefore she pleads not guilty. Unfortunately, any relationship beyond teacher/student, especially without the knowledge of the parents (the 16 yr old CHILD does not have the right of consent in this case) is immoral and illegal. End of discussion. Monday, Oct 6 at 3:59 PM anonymous wrote ...Don't kid yourself - it is too hard to take responsibility for what you have done! Monday, Oct 6 at 3:58 PM Jen wrote ...Thats disgusting Monday, Oct 6 at 3:49 PM Anonymous wrote ...read the article... "police say Biggs admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with the girl" she still broke the law. Monday, Oct 6 at 2:55 PM wow wrote ...it was her first time in court... everyone pleads not guilty. It doesn't mean she didn't admit to anything inappropriate. Monday, Oct 6 at 2:34 PM Anonymous wrote ...so much for people saying she admitted to it. Add a comment |
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Monday, Nov 17 at 6:34 PM 5678 wrote ...
duuuuuude it's already been over a month. WOW