Brittany Zamora was jailed for 20 years. Photo / Facebook
Brittany Zamora was jailed for 20 years. Photo / Facebook
A US teacher imprisoned for raping a 13-year-old boy has divorced the husband who stood by her side and tried to keep her from jail.
Less than a year into her 20-year sentence, Brittany Zamora has reportedly filed for divorce from husband Daniel, stating: "Our marriage is broken beyond repair ['irretrievably broken'] and there is no hope of reconciliation."
The court documents, sighted by AZFamily.com, show that she is not seeking spousal support.
Zamora's decision to file for divorce comes after Daniel Zamora intervened in her case, reportedly contacting the victim's family to encourage them to "meet up" and "settle this".
Brittany and Daniel Zamora were childhood sweethearts. Photo / Facebook
The jury in Brittany Zamora's 2019 trial heard how the young teacher had multiple sexual encounters with the 13-year-old boy in a classroom at Las Brisas Academy in Goodyear and in her car during February and March 2018.
Some physical contact between Zamora, who was 27 at the time, and the sixth-grader occurred during class while other students were watching a video.
Investigators also said a second boy, age 11, had seen Zamora having sex with the 13-year-old student. They said Zamora showed naked photos to both boys and asked them sexual questions.
Messages exchanged between Zamora and the victim. Photo / Goodyear Police Department
Both children's families had asked the judge to deliver the harshest punishment possible. In a statement read by their attorney, the 13-year-old's father and stepmother called Zamora a "twisted monster" who stole their son's innocence.
"He will miss out on so many important emotions and feelings when it comes to relationships with women for the rest of his life — all because his trust was betrayed by sixth-grade school teacher," they wrote.
His family also argued that Zamora would likely receive a stiffer sentence if she were a man who had committed the same crimes with a girl.
"I'm also angry at those who say they think abuse like this of a woman on a young man is somehow less serious if it happened to a girl instead of a boy," the 13-year-old's mother said in a statement.
Brittany Zamora wipes away a tear after being sentenced to 20 years in prison in Maricopa County Superior Court. Photo / AP
"Every child no matter their sex deserves to have their period of adulthood free of monsters."
Zamora's defence attorney and family said the crimes were out of character for her. They cited her father's abandonment of her when she was 13 and ongoing issues with anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder as mitigating factors.
"She's a great candidate for rehabilitation," defence attorney Belen Olmedo Guerra said. "She wants to change her life and she's already started that."
