Student’s Graphic Testimony Seals 'Pedophile' Teacher’s Fate

I did not attend my high school. graduation. I did not walk. I did not cross the. stage. I actually had my sister pick up my. diploma on my half. >> A teacher's ultimate betrayal and a. student's unimaginable pain. Former AP. English teacher Damen Ki stood trial for. unlawful sexual activity with a. 16-year-old student who gave emotional, tearful testimony about their. inappropriate relationship. And now. Kanti faces decades behind bars. We are.

going to break down how this trial. unfolded and the disturbing details that. sealed his fate. Welcome to Sidebar. presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse. Weber. Hey everybody, this is another Law and. Crime legal alert. If you received. Depropa birth control shots and were. later diagnosed with a brain or spinal. tumor called meningioma, you may be. eligible for a lawsuit. That's right. Morgan and Morgan is investigating. claims that patients weren't properly. warned about this risk. It's free to. check, just takes a few minutes, and you.

don't pay unless they win. So, scan the. QR code on screen, click the link below, or go to forthepeople.com/lcdepo. to see if you qualify. The trial of. Damian Ki, a 37-year-old former AP. English teacher at Southtech Academy in. Boon Beach, Florida, began quietly at. the Palm Beach County Courthouse. Kanti. faced more than a 100red years in. prison, charged with four counts of. unlawful sexual activity with a minor, his 16-year-old student. But there was. one additional charge that stood out.

tied to an incident that nearly turned. fatal. And we're going to come back to. what that was about in a little bit. Now, I got to tell you, we cover these. kinds of stories all the time, usually. when they first break or there's an. arrest. I think this could be the first. time on Sidebar that we actually covered. the trial, which is always interesting. because we anticipate what a trial will. look like in these sexual abuse cases. involving an educator and student. And. now we saw it firsthand. So, let's get. into this. June 24th, 2025, Kanti's.

attorney, assistant public defender Lily. Bulmer and prosecutors Alexa Riierro and. Nicole Coring, they prepared for a case. that would hinge on text messages, surveillance footage, the testimony of a. teenager who had survived far more than. just a sexual encounter. And now that. the trial officially concluded, we're. going to walk back through the facts of. the case, how it ended up in court, and. most importantly, everything the jurors. heard during those critical days in the.

courtroom. So, according to a criminal. complaint on February 6, 2024, a deputy. with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's. Office responded to a Burger King in. Lake Worth. This was following a report. of possible unlawful sexual activity. with a minor. Now, prior to arriving at. the scene, the responding officer spoke. with another deputy. And what stood out. most, according to the deputy, was that. while her bodywn camera was recording, the defendant, Damen Ki, essentially. admitted to being in an inappropriate.

relationship with the teenager. And. although much of the complaint remains. redacted, it revealed that Kanti. admitted he had been suspended from his. job at Southtech Academy in Buon Beach. and that he had communicated with the. student via text messages, Instagram, phone calls. So based on this. information, Kanti was initially. arrested and charged with six counts of. unlawful sexual activity with a minor as. well as four counts of committing an. offense against a student by an. authority figure. However, by the time. the case proceeded to trial, the.

prosecution had apparently dropped two. of the unlawful sexual activity charges. and all four charges related to offenses. against the student. But in their place, prosecutors filed four felony counts of. unlawful sexual activity with a minor. under Florida statute 794.05. along with one additional charge, attempted assisted self murder. This is. under Florida statute 782.08, 08 which. stem from a separate incident in this. case that we're going to talk about. But. under Florida law, each count of.

unlawful sexual activity with a minor. carries a maximum sentence of up to 15. years in prison and assisting in a self. murder. It's classified, our. understanding, as manslaughter, and it. carries the same maximum penalty. So, we. want to get into this trial and what. happened. Let's start with opening. statements. Prosecutor Alexa Riierro. described Damian Ki, the defendant, as a. predator who groomed his then. 16-year-old student, isolating her from. friends and family while drawing her. into this increasingly sexual.

relationship. >> When Mr. Ki laid eyes on her, he saw. something else in her. >> Pray. But then you heard from defense. attorney Lily Bulmer and she countered. that while Kanti's relationship with the. student was clearly inappropriate, it. never became sexual and it never became. a crime. >> There was no physical sexual activity. that occurred between SLM and Mr. Monty. >> But here's the thing. Bulma reportedly. acknowledged, "Look, the two may have. pushed boundaries, drawing hearts in the. sand at a beach, running errands.

together, buying each other coffee, even. admitting they shared kisses, but she. insisted they never crossed the line. into unlawful sexual conduct." Now, I. got to say, the most gut-wrenching. moment of this whole trial, in my. opinion, came when the victim took the. stand to confront her former abuser and. tell her story firsthand. So now she's. 18 years old and she delivered the. trials, again, my opinion, most powerful. and emotional testimony describing how. Kanti first reached out to her under.

this pretense of mentorship back in. August of 2023. And what began as. seemingly innocent school emails quickly. spiraled into personal text messages and. then moved on to Instagram, where the. line between teacher and predator. blurred. We see this happen in a number. of different cases that we cover here on. Sidebar. Just as an aside before we get. into her testimony, forensic analysts. unveiled damning digital evidence, including hundreds of explicit messages.

that were exchanged between Ki and the. teenager, some of which the prosecution. even read aloud. >> I want so badly. >> I love you, Damian. Thank you for making. my day special. >> I love you. >> even though all you wanted to do is have. sex. Of course, my angel, thank you for. making my day special. >> So, with that context, the now. 18-year-old victim testified that by. December of 2023, their relationship. escalated beyond messages, and what. began as first kisses quickly turned. into near daily sexual encounters.

>> Was there a time where it developed. something um sexual? >> Yes, Mr. Damian and I, we engaged in. vaginal sex. That is a photograph of Mr. Kine and I exchanging a kiss. >> And these encounters, they apparently. happened everywhere, including on school. grounds, in a classroom, storage closet, a car. >> He. told me he didn't want to go out. He.

told me he wanted to stay and. communicate with me in a vehicle. Um, from there it led to sexual. >> But here's the thing. Like we cover in. so many different cases, the secrecy. didn't last. Rumors started spreading. >> That he was getting too close to me. Uh, there were students that were calling. him a predator. >> And then a friend of the victim took the. stand and detailed how he discovered.

these explicit messages. After seeing. the texts, the classmate immediately. reported both of them. >> There were some very sexual situations, mentioned. pictures and photographs, all sorts of heinous things. >> And when the victim recalled this moment. in court, she broke down describing the. devastating fallout after the truth came. out. >> I did not attend my high school. graduation.

I did not walk. I did not cross the. stage. I actually had my sister pick up my. diploma on my behalf. >> Now, here's where everything takes a. turn. The emotional toll of this was. apparently unbearable. So much so that. in her despair, she did the unthinkable. She arranged to meet with Ki at a Home. Depot where she purchased a rope and. chain. Now, we're not going to go into. further detail in order to comply with. YouTube's platform guidelines, but I.

think you can gather what we're talking. about. And again, look at that. additional charge that Kanti was facing. But the pain in that courtroom was. palpable. And when her testimony ended, she actually collapsed stepping off the. stand. Now, we've heard the victim's. story, but now we got to talk about the. digital evidence because that reveals a. whole other damning layer to this case. When police confronted Kanti, he didn't. just cooperate, he confessed.

>> Everything was consensual. >> Okay. Well, that's good. Does it matter? >> Absolutely. [Music]. >> And the courtroom then watched as Ki. broke down in tears when these. recordings played. But the defense, they. didn't take it lying down. No, the. defense fought back hard, challenging. both the confession and the police. investigation. >> At no point in time did you.

swap SLM's car for DNA. >> There would be no reason. >> At no point in time did you swap SLM's. car for DNA? >> No. >> At no point in time did you instruct. crime scene investigators to swap SLM's. car for DNA? >> I did not. Yet, the prosecution stood. firm, leaving no doubt about their. target or the evidence that they'd. uncovered. >> They both had sex in the car. They both. admitted to having sex in the car.

>> Was there any question of who um the. suspect was in this case? >> No. >> Was there any question of whether sex. had occurred? >> No. >> Then you go to closing arguments and. prosecutors painted Ki as this. calculating predator who systematically. exploited a vulnerable teenager's. isolation and trust. Everything that he. has done that he did that day thing day. that he did all the months leading up to. him leading up to that with the sexual. um with the sexual things that that he. made her do with him was all for. himself. This is just a timeline of all.

the things that he did that morning and. all the attempts that she made. All the attempts that she made to get. help from him, begging him for help. She. completely relied on him. She told us. that she had a few friends, but he but. he really shed some light on the. situation that she was in, and that is. that she did not have good friends. He. was her only friend. >> He was the only one that she talked to. on a daily basis. She was even concerned.

within those text messages that we read. about growing too attached to him. because this is the only person that she. felt that she had in her life. This is a. person that she looked to for guidance, for love, for care. her world was. crumbling when this news broke. and he knew that. He knew that going. into it. He knew that when it came out. and again he used that information. against her. The trust that she has and. he manipulated her into doing things. >> And the evidence they argue didn't stop. there. Digital records, deleted.

messages, Kanti's own words laid bare a. pattern that prosecutors say proves. guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Every. single thing that he says in these. interviews that we've introduced into. evidence that you get to watch. is disproven by the by the evidence that. we put forward by digital evidence, by. witness testimony, by by photos, by. emails. He admits he admits to all the messages. he deleted. He admits to making the.

victim delete messages. And even though she did delete the. messages, we've recovered enough to show. and to prove that what he said actually. happened with the sexual acts that what. she said actually happened was not fairy. tale, was not roleplay. Now just as before we really move on. from the sex act stuff, if you are if. you listen closely to that interview, he. admits to every single sex act, the. number of times it happened, where it. happened. With the law as their guide,

jurors were told this case wasn't about. opinion, but about proof. >> We have proven these sex charges beyond. reasonable doubt. And the reason why. we're here is because he's entitled to a. trial by jury. There's no grand scheme. for you to uncover back there when you. do. >> There's no big question that you need to. answer back there about what happened. here. We have given you everything that. you could possibly need to know what the. answer to those questions are.

And that's what we're asking you to do. When we selected a jury, my co-consel. Miss Coring asked each of you about. whether you would agree to follow the.

law in this case. And each of you. indicated that you would. And following. the law doesn't necessarily mean and. often does mean you don't have to agree. with what the law is. And that's why we. ask those questions in various. elections. It doesn't matter what your. views are um on consent being at the age. of 18. The law is the law. The defendant. is the one who violated the law and we. have proven that he has violated the law. in the six ways that we have charged. him. >> Now, the defense countered. They. countered with a starkly different.

narrative, arguing that while Kanti's. actions were deeply inappropriate, they. didn't constitute criminal conduct. >> Mr. K's relationship with SLM was. terribly inappropriate. A teacher and a student should never be. sending explicit messages back and forth. to one another. They should have never been in a. romantic relationship. South Tech Academy should have fired. him. But none of that means that a crime.

was committed or that Mr. Ki was the one. that committed it. The state just got. here and told you that we're here for. trial because Mr. Ki is entitled to. trial. We're not here because we're just. going through the motions of a trial. We're here because Mr. Ki is not guilty. on all five counts as charged in the. information. We've come to the end of this trial and. soon you'll be brought back into that. jury room to make a decision about the. facts in this case. The state made you a. promise in opening statements. They.

promised to prove their case beyond and. to the exclusion of each and every. reasonable doubt and they failed to do. that. >> And the defense acknowledged that the. relationship was wrong, that it was. inappropriate, but insisted the state. failed to prove criminal intent, pointing to missing evidence and mutual. feelings. >> This trial may have stirred up a lot of. emotions as you sat and you listened to. the evidence, but as you were just. instructed, your verdict cannot be. influenced by feelings of prejudice, bias, or sympathy. Your verdict has to.

be based on the evidence in the law that. was presented during this trial. So, let's talk about that. As you were. also just instructed, reasonable doubt. comes from the evidence, a lack of. evidence, and a conflict in the. evidence. Let's talk about the undisputed. evidence. Mr. Ki and SLM had feelings. for one another. Mr. Ki admitted that to. the police. Miss SLM admitted that on. the stand. How do I know? How do we know. that that is a correct description?

Because there were romantic feelings. both ways. They spoke every day. We have. hours of messages that were read into. the record. We have hours of messages and we're also. missing Instagram records. And we know. that there's more Instagram records. because as SLM testified on direct on. cross-examination, the main form of. communication was those Instagrams. And. from beach dates to whispered I love. yous, the defense seemed to frame this. as a consensual, a forbidden romance. >> So, as much as the state attorney.

presented their evidence from exhibits 2. and three, there's even more than that. They ate lunch together. They planned. dates together, like going to the beach, as we saw the pictures of them kissing. at the beach. They went to the movies together. They. streamed movies together. They hung out at one another's work. and SLM was excited for Mr. Ki to bring. his children to work so that she could.

meet them. And that's going to be. defense exhibit one. They had discussions about who he was. following on Instagram. The fact that. SLM was unhappy about who he was. following and asked him to stop. following those influencers. That is. relationship behavior. And it it's cut. off, but that is going to be states. exhibit 2, page nine. They hugged and. they kissed one another. They said I. love you to one another and they sent. explicit messages to one another. >> And ultimately, the defense urged jurors.

to separate emotion from the law, arguing that no physical line was. crossed. >> The state and opening statements told. you that Mr. Ki manipulated SLI, but. they can't just say it. They had to. prove it. And the evidence that they. showed were simply that they had. feelings for one another. They planned a. life together. Mr. Ki was planning to. divorce his wife to have SLM go to. college and she would come back and. visit the her children over college. breaks. He would move and downsize into.

a smaller apartment and she would. eventually move in with him. The Miss Riierro on direct apologized. over and over again for calling this a. relationship to SLM. SLM never said that. it wasn't a relationship. She knew it. was a relationship. On. cross-examination, she specifically. stated it was a relationship without a. label. Even if it wasn't supposed to be. happening, that's what it was, a. relationship without a label. This was a romantic relationship that.

Mr. Ki was not willing to jeopardize. He. was not willing to cross that line and. have physical sexual relations with SLM. Why do I say that? I say that because no. unlawful sexual activity occurred in. this case. >> But the prosecution fired back, arguing. this wasn't just poor judgment, but this. was about predatory conduct. And it was. spelled out in their own words. Listen. to this moment from the rebuttal. argument. >> Life as he knew it was over,

that he was no longer going to be able. to go to school while texting a student, showing videos on his smartboard, talking about their days. And in that situation, the obligation is on the adult. In that situation, the obligation is for a teacher to never. cross that line as many times as he did, in as many ways as he did.

Because ladies and gentlemen, you do not. leave your wife and children for a quote. emotional relationship. Of course, they were having sex. >> And prosecutors, they didn't stop there. They weaponized the defendant's own. graphic texts to prove this was all. about sex, not romance. >> He told the detectives, the SL told the. detectives, and you all now know that, too.

This is not a who done it. This isn't a case where DNA is going to. tell you anything because you heard it. all already. And you fault SLM for not going into. graphic detail in front of eight. strangers, cameras, a courtroom full of. people of the sexual quote escapades the. two of them went through. >> is ridiculous. >> Objection. Attack on theory of defense.

a room. >> But where did they reminisce. about all of their sexual encounters? The clincher. These what? 800 pages of. messages where a teacher didn't just. cross a line, but documented every. violation. Now, I have to give you a. fair warning here. This next part is. extremely disturbing and it is very. graphic. >> In the 800 pages of text messages that. Mr. and I read you.

A few highlights include on page 562. about how acidic SLM tasted on that day, about how he drank her creamy secretion, and later on page 595, Mr. Ki reveled in how clean she was that. day. Miss Bulmer wants you to question SLM's. testimony because she couldn't sit there. and talk about the quote curve in Mr. Ki.

But don't you worry because the RN. talked about it. She knows precisely what his penis looks. like. And you know what she said? She. likes the tip. because she'd seen it. She had felt it. The two discussed about how she loved. what he threw her around. And then the defendant told her on page. 5 of 97, "I can still feel your mouth on.

you.". the words a 36year-old AP English. teacher to his 16year-old. junior. Was that as crazy intense as it was for. you as it was for me? So, no. SLM could not give you a playbyplay of.

the three times they had vaginal sex. because that's what she said. She did not testify that it was vaginal. sex every day. She said they had vaginal. sex three times. >> What happened? After just two hours of. deliberations, the jury reached their. verdict, delivering a swift and decisive. conclusion to this explosive case. At. this time, madam clerk, if you could. please publish the ver. >> in the circuit court of the 15th. judicial circuit criminal division in.

Palm Beach County, Florida case number. 2024 CF 001096. AMB division B, state of Florida versus. Damian Joseph Ki. Defendant verdict. We. the jury find as follows. As to count. one, penis to female genitals, we find. the defendant guilty of unlaw unlawful. sexual activity with a minor as charging. information. If you found the defendant. guilty of this offense, you must then.

answer the following questions. Has the. state proven beyond a reasonable doubt. that Damon Kienetrated. SLM's female generals? Yes. Has the. state proven beyond a reasonable doubt. that Damian Ki was an authority figure. at a school and SLM was a student at the. same school? Yes. As to count two mouth to female. genitals, we find a defendant guilty of. unlawful sexual activity with a minor as. charged in the information. If you found.

a defendant guilty of this offense, you. must then answer the following. questions. Has a state proven beyond a. reasonable doubt that Damen Ki's mouth. penetrated SLM's female genitals? Yes. Has a state proven beyond a reasonable. doubt that Damen Ki was an authority. figure at his school and SLM was a. student at the same school? Yes. As to. count three, penis to mouth. We find the. defendant guilty of unlaw unlawful. sexual activity with a minor as charged. in the information. If you found the.

defendant guilty of this, you must then. answer the following questions. Has the. state proven beyond a reasonable doubt. that Damon Ki's penis penetrated SLM's. mouth? Yes. Has the state proven beyond. a reasonable doubt that Damon Ki was an. authority figure at a school and SLM was. a student at the same school? Yes. As to count four, object senior to. female general. We found the defendant. guilty of unlaw unlawful sexual activity. with a minor as charged in the.

information. If you found the defendant. guilty of this offense, you must then. answer the following questions. Has the. state proven beyond a reasonable doubt. that Damian Ki's finger penetrate SLM's. female genders? Yes. Has the state. proven beyond a reasonable doubt that. Damian Ki was an authority figure at a. school and SLM was a student at the same. school? Yes. At count five, we find the. defendant not guilty. So say we all this. 30th day of June 2025 in West Palm Beach. Palm Beach County. sign jewelry for a.

person. >> Guilty on all four counts of unlawful. sexual activity with a minor, but not. guilty of assisted attempted self. murder. So, Kanti stood stonefaced. His. only reaction seemingly this tightening. of his jaw, and notably absent, by the. way, was his now 18-year-old victim, who. didn't appear in court for the verdict. Circuit Court Judge Howard Coat. scheduled Kanti's fate for August 15th. where he faces reportedly 27 to 120. years behind bars. A potential life.

sentence for this disgraced teacher. And. think about this, by the way. The Palm. Beach Post reports Kanti turned down a. plea deal of 10 to 25 years. It's all we. have for you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining. us. And as always, please subscribe on. YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next. time. [Music].