Teacher befriended 14-year-old on Instagram and then sexually abused him at his 8th grade graduation

According to a report, police launched an investigation into the teacher after the boy’s parents heard rumors of abuse.

A former Northern California teacher pleaded guilty this week to sexually abusing one of her 14-year-old students on the day of his eighth-grade graduation.

The Butte County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release that Michelle Christine Solis appeared in Butte County Superior Court on Tuesday morning and pleaded “no contest.”

Solis, 46, was not expected to plead no contest, according to prosecutors, but she changed her plea and “ultimately admitted guilt.”

According to Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, the incident occurred in June 2021 when Solis was the boy’s teacher at Sycamore Junior High School in Gridley, California.

“She made him her friend on Instagram and sent him messages in the weeks leading up to his graduation,” prosecutors said in a news release this week. “Evidence showed that Solis sent the boy four explicit photographs of herself before she had sexual intercourse with him in a locked classroom on the day of the student’s eighth-grade graduation.”

In October 2023, rumors about the photos began circulating in the Gridley community, and copies of the photos she had sent to the boy appeared on social media.

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Gridley Police then began investigating the rumors and confiscated the boy’s cell phone after his parents heard about the incident. The Sacramento Bee reported. When investigators checked the boy’s cell phone, they found “two clear photos of Solis,” prosecutors said.

Solis was arrested in November of last year and was immediately ordered to post $15,000 bail. She will remain free on bail until her sentencing on June 6, according to prosecutors.

“As part of her plea today, Solis stated that she will register as a sex offender and faces up to four years in prison,” the office said.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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