Dozens of new charges have been filed in the months since Brittany Fortinberry was first arrested on suspicion of having sex with a middle school boy.
Martinsville, Indiana – Morgan County prosecutors have filed additional charges against a former substitute teacher, allegedly having a group sex relationship with the 13-year-old boy.
Brittany Fortinberry of Martinsville was charged with additional sexual misconduct, minors, substance transmission that is harmful to minors, and has contributed to minors' crimes.
This brings the total number of allegations against Fortinberry to 47, including 14 sexual misconduct in minors.
Editor's Note: The so-called victim in this story is too young to agree to have sex. 13news does not use the terms “rape” or “sexual assault” because these are specific crimes and the suspect will not be charged with a crime when published.
New victims stand up
New charges were raised after another teenage boy introduced Fortinberry's alleged misconduct to his parents and police.
According to new court documents, the boy initially said Fortinberry just let him come over for drugs and hang out. He told the police that she would praise his appearance and strength when doing housework.
According to the boy, Fortinberry began to stroke him more and then one night they started having sex in her garage. Afterwards, he said Fortinberry went to bed with her husband and he slept in the child's room.
The boy told police officer Fortinberry would give him and other boys drugs and tried to buy gifts. He said he stopped coming when he realized Fortinberry was having sex with many other teenage boys.
Allegedly having sex with a middle school boy
After Fortinberry's initial arrest, the Department of Children's Services (DC) contacted the parents of other potential victims, resulting in more charges.
Brittany said nothing as deputies took her to the Morgan County Courthouse, where she first heard on April 3.
“I realize that the case has received a lot of publicity, but the focus is and will be retained on the right to just trial for both the victim and the defendant,” said Michelle Armstrong, deputy attorney of Morgan County.
According to court documents, one of the victims, a middle school boy, accused Brittany of repeatedly poisoning him and having sex with him when he was 13. He said Brittany would ask him to bring his friends to her house, she would allegedly give drugs to teenagers and then have sex with them.
One victim told police that Brittany would let her child go to bed and then try to have sex with the boy.
In another incident, one victim said Brittany reached out to him after being arrested in another investigation of misconduct. She allegedly spent $600 on various purchases on a group of teenagers and then had sex with everyone while having them wearing the movie Scream. Brittany allegedly told the teenagers that she would commit suicide if they had any reports.
Brittany allegedly had sex with a teenager who asked to take care of the children and also exchanged sex to get other teenagers’ stuff.
Another student said Brittany was paying genital photos of teenage boys between teenagers and $800.
One boy told police that if the boy said they didn't want to have sex with Brittany, she would do them, while saying, “Let it come true.”
In a completely independent case, Brittany faces charges over allegedly sending sexual messages and videos to 17- and 18-year-old boys who worked as teacher assistants at the distinguished school beginning this school year.
All teenagers say Brittany will send them nude photos and explicit photos and videos on Snapchat, as well as an app called “Session.”
Many victims' parents were not aware of any problems until DC contacted them.
“The allegations of seeing allegations of sexual abuse involving people's positions are simply insufficient,” said Kristina Korobov, senior attorney for the Zero Abuse Program. “What happens to these kids. It's a violation, it's an exploitation.”
Although exploitation cases are not uncommon, cases with male victims are rarely reported, Korobov said.
“We continue to send that message that it's not unanimously out of control, but treat it with the respect that these allegations deserve, and I think the more you see the kids and their parents feel comfortable standing up and talking about what's going on,” Kolobof said.
Seeking mental illness defense
On May 7, her lawyer filed a notice of mental illness or defect. They asked the court to appoint two to three psychologists or psychiatrists to evaluate Fortinberry's mental capacity.
According to the document:
“The lawyer has a sincere belief that the defendant may have a mental illness or defect but lacks the expertise to raise whether the defendant appreciates his or her behavior in the case of a crime. This opinion must come from a qualified expert, as per the statute.”