FLORIDA
New Times
BY CHRIS JOSEPH
TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015
Stephen Budd, the former Rosarian Academy Elementary School teacher accused of child molestation, has been found guilty on all counts on Tuesday.
Budd, 53, has been sentenced to serve three consecutive life sentences, and another 15 years.
In 2003, Budd was arrested as he was leaving his West Palm Beach apartment after two fourth grade girls came forward and told police that Budd had given then candy in exchange for sexual favors. The acts occurred in 2006 when Budd was the girls’ fourth grade homeroom teacher at Rosarian Academy. The girls, who are teens now, were both 9-years-old at the time.
According to investigators, Budd had given the victims what he deemed as “Budd Bucks,” which was payment in candy, in exchange for the sexual acts. At the time of his arrest, police said that the exchange with the girls had begun at the beginning of the school year and had gone on as a daily routine.
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