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Former De Soto High School nurse sentenced to probation in sex case with student

A former nurse at De Soto High School was sentenced Tuesday in Johnson County Court for having sexual contact with a 16-year-old student and making inappropriate sexual comments to other female students.

Richard Finazzo, 47, who pleaded guilty in June to two counts of unlawful sexual relations, was sentenced to three years of probation Tuesday.

According to court documents, Finazzo resigned from his position in October 2018 after concerns were raised about his relationship with a specific student and the amount of time students spent in his office. He was first charged in Johnson County District Court in June 2019.

Finazzo allegedly admitted to the school’s principal that a 16-year-old student had been to his home and that they communicated over text when she experienced anxiety, according to an affidavit filed with charging documents.

The student told officers she started seeing Finazzo in August for anxiety and depression. In October she told police she met him twice outside of school and engaged in sexual activity. Finazzo allegedly admitted to meeting the student but said it was only for counsel.

Other female students told police Finazzo touched them inappropriately or made inappropriate comments when they visited his office, according to the affidavit. The students said Finazzo would buy female students gifts, give out his phone number and Snapchat and comment on their appearance.

Finazzo sometimes spoke to students about his sex life and made sexual comments about their injuries and illnesses, according to the affidavit.

He was fired in 2016 from his job as a nurse at Gardner-Edgerton High School, a school about 15 minutes away from De Soto, because of suspicion of inappropriate contact with a student, according to the affidavit.

The De Soto superintendent said he didn’t know Finazzo was previously suspected of inappropriate conduct when he was hired to work at De Soto.