Kristen Gantt is a former English teacher at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, who pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation by a school employee and was sentenced on February 28, 2024, to two years in prison for a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student.1Des Moines Register. Former Dowling Teacher Kristen Gantt Sentenced Two Years Sexual Exploitation
What Happened at Dowling Catholic
Gantt, then 36, was a licensed English teacher at Dowling Catholic High School. Between February and March 2023, she carried on a relationship with a 17-year-old male student on school property.2City of West Des Moines. West Des Moines Police Department Information Release According to the criminal complaint, she admitted to police that she had been physically intimate with the student on at least five occasions inside her classroom after the school day ended. Court documents stated that Gantt kissed the student “for the purpose of (her) sexual arousal.”1Des Moines Register. Former Dowling Teacher Kristen Gantt Sentenced Two Years Sexual Exploitation
Arrest and Original Charges
The West Des Moines Police Department received a report about the relationship on March 21, 2023. After investigating, detectives arrested Gantt on April 14, 2023. Prosecutors filed two counts: sexual exploitation by a school employee, a Class D felony, and sexual contact by a school employee, an aggravated misdemeanor.2City of West Des Moines. West Des Moines Police Department Information Release
The Guilty Plea
On February 8, 2024, Gantt entered a written guilty plea to one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee as an aggravated misdemeanor.3Des Moines Register. Iowa Teacher Dowling Catholic Pleads Guilty for Sexual Exploitation of Student The Class D felony count was resolved through the plea agreement. In court records, she admitted to kissing a student under the age of 18 for the purpose of sexual arousal. The plea carried a maximum of two years in prison, a fine of up to $8,500, and mandatory sex offender registration.4Our Quad Cities. Former Dowling Catholic Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation
The Sentence
At sentencing on February 28, 2024, the court imposed the maximum term of two years in prison.1Des Moines Register. Former Dowling Teacher Kristen Gantt Sentenced Two Years Sexual Exploitation The judgment also required Gantt to register as a sex offender, submit a DNA sample to law enforcement, and abide by a no-contact order with the victim that remains in effect until February 28, 2029.
The Iowa Law Behind the Case
Gantt was prosecuted under Iowa Code Section 709.15, which prohibits sexual exploitation by a school employee. The statute defines sexual exploitation as sexual conduct between a school employee and a student for the purpose of arousing or satisfying the sexual desires of either person, and it identifies kissing as one form of sexual conduct covered by the law.5Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code Section 709.15
The offense has two tiers. A pattern, practice, or scheme of sexual conduct with a student is a Class D felony. Sexual conduct for arousal or satisfaction without the pattern element is an aggravated misdemeanor.5Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code Section 709.15 Gantt was convicted on the misdemeanor tier under her plea agreement.