TEACHER GETS 38 YEARS IN PRISON FOR HAVING SEX WITH A 12 YEAR OLD

ETHEL ANDERSON

A Hillsborough County judge told Ethel Anderson she 'groomed' a student 'for her own deviant' purposes before sentencing her to 38 years behind bars.

Anderson, an award winning teacher, was found guilty of nine counts of sex crime charges.

"Despite what the court might see, I am not a sexual predator," Anderson told the judge Monday.

Prosecutors say Anderson lured a 12-year-old boy into a sexual affair using text messages.  They presented more then 230 pages of text messages between Anderson and the victim.

In a move that seemingly backfired, Anderson took the stand in her own defense and told jurors the texts were all "fantasy" and used them as a teaching tool to keep the boy's attention.

"You groomed this child," said Hillsborough Circuit Judge Chet Tharpe.

Tharpe also said Anderson manipulated the boy's parents into believing he was safe while with her.

Anderson, mom to a six-year-old, was led away in cuffs to begin her sentence.
Last December, she resigned from Mango Elementary School.

The boy has since transferred schools.

"Anger and hatred don't even begin to explain how I feel about what you took from my son," said the boy's mother in a written statement read by prosecutors.  "His innocence is lost forever."