Former Alabama teacher who argued no-sex with students policy was unconstitutional pleads guilty

Published 7:01 am Thursday, March 25, 2021

A former Alabama teacher who had argued that a law banning teachers from having sexual relationships with students was unconstitutional pleaded guilty Monday to engaging in a sex act with a student.

Carrie Cabri Witt, 47, a former Decatur High School teacher, entered a blind plea to one count in Decatur Monday afternoon, according to WAFF.

Witt was arrested in March 2016. Police said she had sex with two teenagers when they were her students at Decatur High. Witt taught history, psychology and social studies and also coached girls’ golf and junior varsity cheer.

Witt hired lawyers who argued in court that her constitutional rights were violated by being prosecuted for having a consensual relationship with a student while she was a school employee. Lawyers argued that her arrest violated her 14th Amendment right to privacy and equal protection.

Her case was dismissed in 2017 when Morgan County Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson ruled Alabama’s teacher-student sex law unconstitutional. The ruling was later reversed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. The case was sent back to circuit court.