A new documentary released Monday has put renewed attention on Brittany Zamora, the former Goodyear teacher who is in prison for sexually abusing a student.
Once a star teacher, then-27-year-old Zamora taught elementary school and was caught sending illicit text messages to a 13-year-old male student over Instagram and other messaging platforms, months after a “relationship” began in 2018.
She later pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a minor, attempted molestation and public sexual indecency, according to court records. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019, the lowest possible sentence for the charges.
The new documentary highlights body camera footage from the days leading up to her arrest, detailing interviews from parents, witnesses, school administrators and Zamora herself.
Here are answers to commonly asked questions about Zamora.
What did Brittany Zamora do?
Zamora was arrested in March 2018 on suspicion of having a sexual relationship with her sixth-grade student at Las Brisas Academy.
Police reports recounted how she, then 27, had sex with her student multiple times in her classroom and car, sometimes with an 11-year-old boy posing as a “lookout” in the classroom. The two even sexually touched each other while her sixth-grade class obliviously watched a video, according to police reports.
In June 2019, Zamora pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a minor, attempted molestation of a minor and public sexual indecency as part of a plea deal. She was previously charged with 15 felony counts, including eight counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and a slew of other charges.
The relationship between Zamora and the 13-year-old started when she told her sixth-grade students to message her on an instructional app called Classcraft because she was bored one day.
Texts between Zamora and the 13-year-old quickly turned flirtatious and evolved into a sexual relationship, according to police. This relationship carried on for at least three months before a monitoring app on the student’s cellphone alerted his parents to illicit texts between the two.
The app — Sentry Parental Control — alerted the mom that the word “baby” was repeatedly coming up in a direct message conversation on Instagram. She quickly realized the Instagram account belonged to Zamora.
Zamora was arrested in March 2018 after the parents found the text messages.
Where did Brittany Zamora teach?
Zamora graduated from Arizona State University and took a teaching job at Littleton Elementary School in Avondale. She was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2016.
She was then recruited to teach at Las Brisas Academy, where the misconduct occurred.
What was Brittany Zamora’s sentence?
She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019. Twenty years is the lowest possible sentence allowed for her crime.
What was Brittany Zamora’s husband’s involvement in the case?
The boys’ parents sued Zamora in 2019, and claimed that Zamora’s husband, Daniel, knew about the relationship between his wife and the boy.
The lawsuit also specifically accused him of failing to alert authorities after he learned of the ongoing molestation.
According to police reports, Daniel Zamora coached his wife during later calls with the parents, including on the day of her arrest. He encouraged her to cry, apologize and do whatever she could to seem helpless.
The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2019.
Is Brittany Zamora still married?
Zamora filed for divorce from her husband in 2020, writing that the relationship was “broken beyond repair” without “hope of reconciliation.”
What is Brittany Zamora’s age?
Zamora was born in 1991. She is 33.
When is Brittany Zamora’s release date?
Zamora, more than six years into her sentence, was scheduled to be released in 2038.
She will be on probation for the rest of her life and must register as a sex offender.
What do we know about Brittany Zamora’s victim?
Zamora’s victim was a 13-year-old male student. His identity has been kept anonymous in media reports about the case.
Police interviews showed that Zamora could have been grooming another student.
The mother of a male friend of the 13-year-old told police Zamora promised to send her son naked pictures over the summer. During class, Zamora asked the friend whether he was circumcised, the report said. She showed him pictures of male genitalia on her phone when he said he didn’t understand the question.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who is Brittany Zamora? What to know about ex-Arizona teacher
