Stamford HS Teacher Pleads Not Guilty to Sexually Assaulting Student

The Stamford High School teacher facing sexual assault charges after a months-long relationship with a student finally appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford Monday to plead not guilty to the charges.

According to the Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Danielle Watkins, 32, of Fort Point St., Norwalk, pleaded not guilty before Judge Bruce Hudock, who issued protective orders preventing the English teacher from contacting the victims. She is charged with two counts each of second-degree sexual assault and sale of marijuana.

Watkins was arrested July 17 on accusations that in June she threatened to fail a former student, who’s now 18, if he didn’t continue their sexual liaisons. She’s accused of meeting the students for trysts in her car during the school day, but not on school property. She also faces a marijuana possession charge for allegedly providing the student and a 15-year-old with pot that the smoked both on and off school property.

Since her arrest, Watkins has been free on $100,000 bond and reportedly received medical treatment from private facilities in New Canaan and Danbury.

The Hearst Media Group report can be found here.

Photo: Danielle Watkins from Stamford Police.

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