Dawn Giannini, a teacher from California, the wife of a US Army Lt Col, has been arrested and charged with incest after a pupil recognized the teacher as appearing in a video on a porn website.
The student noticed the youngster in the clip was a classmate and an underage female family member, it is claimed.
Dawn Giannini, 49, a Palo Alto elementary school teacher faces 24 felony charges involving sexual misconduct with a minor
The teacher, who is a mother-of-two, Dawn Giannini, 49, from Palo Alto, remains in custody while the investigation continues.
The teen who spotted the teacher in the raunchy clip online had been looking at PornHub.
They then alerted the school’s principal, who called the police, which resulted in Giannini’s arrest.
Giannini, who is married to Thomas, a US Army Lieutenant Colonel, and one of the most senior positions in the Army, was a fourth-grade teacher at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School in Palo Alto, in 2015.
Dawn Giannini, 49, pictured with her husband, Thomas, a US Army Lieutenant Colonel, was booked into Redwood City jail.
Dawn is pictured with her husband, Thomas, a lifelong military man
Before that, she was a special education assistant and substitute for the Redwood City School District.
Redwood City School District Superintendent John Baker sent out an email to parents about Giannini and said while it is believed she did not assault a student, the information is still ‘truly heartbreaking.’
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe would not identify how related Giannini and the young girl, who was 14 at the time of the crimes.
Giannini is accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage family member from November 2014 until November 2015.
Giannini is alleged to have recorded some sexual interactions, which were later uploaded onto the PornHub website.
Prosecutors believe the girl posted the video.
Giannini is currently being held on $1.75m bond. The victim was not one of Giannini’s students but a family member. She is pictured alongside husband Thomas, an Army Lt Col
The allegations will have brought shame on the family of four which include the Giannini’s two teenage children.
Her husband, Thomas, is a high-ranking military officer who has had three overseas deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
He also has proven leadership experience as a company commander, Battalion Operations Officer, and most recently as an Area Office Officer-In-Charge coordinating several Afghanistan Infrastructure Projects in remote locations while serving in an active combat zone.
Investigators saw Giannini alongside a girl in a video that was uploaded online.
His wife now faces two dozen charges, including seven counts of lewd act on a child, six counts of oral copulation on a child under 16 years old, six counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object, and one count of showing porn to a child and one count of incest.
‘We know the victim was sexually active, and there were a lot of videos that were uploaded,’ DA Wagstaffe said.
‘We know that this occurred in at least two counties. It occurred here in our county, in Redwood City, and there was a trip down to Santa Cruz that she took with the victim, and there was sexual activity there.’
It is not believed that Giannini acted inappropriately with any of her students. However, the DA is still investigating all aspects of the case.
Giannini has since been fired from the Redwood City School District and will never be able to work at the district again.
She appeared in court on Thursday and did not enter a plea, Wagstaffe said. She remains in jail in lieu of $1.75 million bail.
UPDATE:
Dawn Giannini, was sentenced to six years and eight months behind bars on Jan. 17, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe
The 50-year-old woman from Redwood City plead guilty to four out of 19 felony charges, including lewd behavior involving children and sexual penetration using an object such as pillows or books between November 2017 – April 2018 at her home.
The sentencing hearing for this case was one of the most severe that Judge Finigan has seen. He considered allowing withdrawal of no contest plea to set a higher sentence but decided against it.
The district attorney’s office initially charged Giannini with 24 felony counts on October 24th, 2018. “My deputy DA dismissed the other charges as part of her negotiated plea bargain,” Wagstaffe said.
Giannini must also register as a sex offender and pay $700 in restitution to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office; she is banned from contacting the victim for ten years.
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