CVU educator pleads not guilty in sex-related case

Julianne Graham, 25, of Burlington pleaded not guilty Friday to three felony charges of sexual exploitation of a minor in connection with a high school student.

Graham, a para-educator at Champlain Valley Union High School, maintained a sexual relationship with the student in Charlotte last summer, according to a police affidavit filed at the Vermont Superior Court in Burlington.

She also pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of unlawful restraint for taking custody of him without authority.

Graham's encounters fall outside of Vermont law that forbids sexual acts between an adult in a supervisory position with anyone under 18.

If convicted, Graham faces a prison sentence of up to 5 years and a fine of up to $10,000 on each exploitation charge and up to 5 years and a $25,000 fine for the restraint charge.

Graham, who was represented by defense lawyer Brooks McArthur, said nothing during the court hearing.

The relationship between Graham and the student was consensual, but "extremely inappropriate," said Detective Sgt. Mike Warren, the director of the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations.

CVU has placed Graham on administrative leave from her duties at the school in Hinesburg, Warren added.

The court affidavit reports three sexual encounters: one at the boy's residence, one in a car at Mount Philo State Park and one in a boat.

A CVU guidance counselor said she was alerted by two other students about the the possible liaison between Graham and a student, the affidavit states. The Vermont Department of Children and Families was alerted Wednesday and CUSI was brought in to help investigate.

The boy told investigators he ended the relationship with Graham out of concern that she might "end up in legal trouble," the affidavit adds.

Graham, according to the boy's statement, told the teenager that he was "worth the risk."

She declined to speak to police when she was arrested at her Staniford Road home on Friday morning, according to CUSI Detective Morgan Lawton, the case's lead investigator.

Judge Michael Kupersmith released Graham on conditions, including she must not go in or onto the premises of CVU. She also is prohibited from contact with the boy and other people 18 and under, except for family members and incidental encounters in public.

A Shelburne police report showed Graham's car was stopped in Charlotte about 9:51 p.m. March 5, 2014. Officer Chris Morrell reported a passenger, later identified as the teenage boy, was in Graham's car.

On Graham's online LinkedIn profile, the defendant posts that she has interned at Mount Mansfield Union High School, is a 2007 graduate of Rice Memorial High School and attended Endicott College in Beverly, Mass.