Darrell Clem

hometownlife.com

A former teacher's aide at East Middle School in Plymouth has been placed on probation for two years following allegations she had a relationship with two underage boys.

Bridget Diane Caplin, 41, was sentenced Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court after she pleaded no contest to charges of distributing obscene material to children and using a computer to commit a crime.

Judge Gregory Bill warned Caplin that she will be jailed for six months if she violates any of the probation terms he imposed, including staying away from school zones, having no contact with children under 17 except her own, undergoing a psychiatric evaluation and being subject to alcohol and drug testing.

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Caplin also will be placed on the state's sex offender registry for 15 years.

Caplin, who was fired from her job at East Middle School, was sentenced by Judge Bill after she accepted a plea in November. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

Caplin's sentencing came after the most serious charge, third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a person age 13-15, was dismissed by prosecutors after one of the victims refused to testify during an earlier preliminary hearing in 35th District Court in Plymouth. Caplin could have faced up to 15 years in prison if she had been convicted of that charge.

Plymouth Police Lt. Jamie Grabowski has said authorities were surprised by the teen's refusal to testify and the dismissal of the most serious charge.

"We didn't see that charge going away," he has said, "but we can't control what victims do."

The now-dismissed criminal sexual conduct charge, police say, stemmed from Caplin's alleged relationship with one boy, while the charge of distributing obscene materials involved another.

Authorities have said both boys were 15 at the time.

Earlier attempts to reach Caplin's defense attorney have been unsuccessful.

Grabowski has said an investigation began last May after police received information from an anonymous online tipping service. The investigation, he said, involved search warrants for online data from social media outlets.

Caplin was placed on administrative leave from East Middle School in May, but she was later fired, Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district officials have said.

Grabowski said Caplin was arrested Oct. 14 at a home in Monroe County by the sheriff's department there after a warrant was issued by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office. She was formally arraigned the next day.

Contact Darrell Clem: dclem@hometownlife.com | Twitter: @CantonObserver | 734-972-0919