DNA eliminates student as father of ex-teacher’s child

Thursday, May 4, 2000 | 2:23 a.m.

Diane Moana Flanary, 31, resigned March 10 amid allegations that she had a five-month affair with the student. A court affidavit from Washoe School District Police said the English teacher and her husband separated after she told him about the affair.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Clifton said Wednesday that saliva samples from Flanary and her 3-month-old daughter were compared with those of her husband and the student.

"We can say with a 99.99 percent certainty that the woman's husband is the biological father of the infant child," Clifton said.

In a March 28 interview with school district police Sgt. Mike Mieras, the student said he had sex with the teacher several times, according to a court affidavit seeking the saliva specimens.

No charges have been filed, but Clifton said the investigation continues. A law passed by the 1997 Nevada Legislature made it a felony for a teacher to have sex with a student.

School district lawyer Jeff Blanck said the DNA results were immaterial to the district's stance on the teachers behavior.

"Miss Flanary left the school district because of improper conduct, not the matter of proof," Blanck said. "It doesn't change our position. The fact the affair occurred represents a bad decision."