Hearing set in sex-crimes case against Los Banos teacher, girlfriend
A defense attorney has asked a Merced County judge for more time to review evidence in the case against a Los Banos high school teacher and his girlfriend who are charged with having sex with minors.
Gary A. Bettencourt, 40, and 22-year-old Devyn M. Egan have pleaded not guilty to having sex with teenage students.
Both defendants stood next to each other in street clothes Wednesday in Merced Superior Court as lawyers working the case asked Judge Harry Jacobs for more time to process new evidence.
Bettencourt, a Pacheco High School English teacher who has been placed on administrative leave, is charged with 13 felonies, including unlawful sexual intercourse, oral copulation with a minor and lewd acts upon a child.
Egan, a former substitute teacher in Stanislaus County, is charged with six similar felonies. District officials have said Egan will not be used as a substitute teacher pending the outcome of the criminal case.
Bettencourt and Egan have been accused of having sex with one of Bettencourt’s students, a 17-year-old girl, multiple times from April through June of last year, according to the court records.
Bettencourt also has been charged with having sexual relationships with at least two other underage victims. He is charged with committing lewd acts on a 15-year-old girl in late 2003 and early 2004 and oral copulation with another girl who was under 18 in late 2006, according to court records.
Christina Roberson, an attorney representing Bettencourt, said there were several text messages included in the new evidence.
A new hearing was scheduled for May 18.
Roberson represented attorney Jeffrey Hammerschmidt, who is a new lawyer hired by Bettencourt.
Bettencourt posted bail the day after the couple’s Feb. 3 arrest. Egan was placed on an electronic monitoring program and released Feb. 10. Egan has been ordered not to contact Bettencourt.
On Wednesday after an off-the-record discussion with lawyers, Jacobs allowed Egan to retrieve her “household goods” from Bettencourt’s Turlock home when Bettencourt is not present.
This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Hearing set in sex-crimes case against Los Banos teacher, girlfriend."