Stephen J. Budd

Stephen J. Budd (born September 21, 1961 ) is an American former teacher convicted in 2015 for the sexual acts he performed upon minors at the Rosarian Academy during the 2006-2007 school year. He is now classified as a sexual predator.

Background
When teaching a 2006-2007 school year at Rosarian Academy, Budd created a system with play money, with the currency being called "Budd Bucks," which could be used to receive candy and prizes. Budd used this system to his advantage, persuading two 9-year-old elementary students in his class for sexual activity under his desk.

The crimes began to be a daily occurrence, at some times where "Budd touched the victims underneath their clothes, asked them to perform sexual acts on him and had them watch as he performed sexual acts on himself, coming from police documents. Budd also took lewd photographs of the victims with the classroom's Polaroid camera when he asked them to commit sexual acts with each other.

2015 criminal trial
In 2013, Budd was arrested shortly after exiting his apartment in West Palm Beach, Florida.

On June 2, 2015, in the Palm Beach County in Florida, Budd was convicted of three counts of sexual battery on a minor, two counts of sexual performance by a minor, two counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition and two counts of sexual battery of two minors under the age of 12, and was sentenced to three life terms and two sentences of 15 years in prison by Judge Karen Miller. He was also classified as a sexual predator. The two victims, now aged 18, testified to the jurors about how they were molested by Budd at the age of 9 and 10. The jurors were also informed of two hours worth of phone calls recorded by the police from 2013 in which Budd admitted to his crimes and apologized while showing remorse after the victims accused him, although at one point, he begins to gaslight them by saying "I can't admit to something I didn't do. I feel like these are serious accusations."

One of the prosecutor's witnesses, aged 22, also testified how she was groped by Budd and how she was exploited by him to sexually touch him when she was 7.