BRENTWOOD—Brentwood School teacher Aimee Palmitessa, 45, was charged on Friday, September 15 for having unlawful sex with a student earlier in the year, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office revealed. She worked at the elite private school for 9 years, an Upper School (9th thru 12th grade) teacher   where the victim, whose name has not been released to the public, was a student in one of her classes.

Palmitessa was a biology teacher at the school, and has a Doctorate’s degree in biochemistry and microbiology and taught at Penn State.

Dr. Mike Reira, Head of the Brentwood School released the following statement on August 20:

“We were shocked and distressed to receive the news of these allegations. As always, our primary concern is the safety, health, and well-being of our students. To that end, we will do everything we can to cooperate with the official police investigation.

We appreciate the importance of transparency and will keep our school community informed to the extent we can given our concern for the student, as well as our respect for privacy laws and the integrity of the LAPD’s investigation. On behalf of our students and their families, we urge media and other observers to avoid posting photos that include Brentwood students who are in no way involved in these allegations. Please afford them the care and protection you would expect for your own children.”

Palmitessa was charged in case SA096485 with seven counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, two counts each of sodomy and sexual penetration by foreign object of a person under the age of 18 and one count of oral copulation of a person under 18. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Adrian Roxas of the Sex Crimes Division.

According to the criminal complaint, between June 12 and August 11, Palmitessa is accused of sexually assaulting the teenage boy. The victim alerted police about the alleged incidents. Palmitessa was arrested by authorities on August 18. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s website revealed that Palmitessa is was held on $230,000 bail.

If convicted, she could face up to 10 years and four months in state prison. The case is still under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.