PITTSBURGH — A former gym teacher who had sex with a 14-year-old freshman and sent him erotic text messages was sentenced Wednesday to up to three years in prison, in part because she called the boy after she was charged, a judge ruled.
The teenager’s family had been willing to settle for a sentence less than prison until they found out Beth Ann Chester had contacted him, prosecutor Laura Ditka told the judge.
Chester, 27, pleaded guilty to statutory sexual assault, corruption of a minor and criminal use of a cell phone.
“I know this is the punishment I deserve,” she said of the 1 1/2- to 3-year prison sentence.
Chester, a health and physical education teacher, met the teenager last year at Moon Area High School, where she taught ninth grade and coached volleyball. She resigned unexpectedly in December citing “personal reasons.” She was arrested in early January after she confessed to having sex with the boy, including once in a school parking lot.
Defense attorney Robert DelGreco didn’t excuse Chester’s behavior, but sought to explain it by noting that her marriage was troubled when she met the boy. This caused her to become closer to her students than she should have been, he said.
Chester’s divorce is pending.
Authorities said Chester first contacted the boy in October after she got his cell phone number from a member of her volleyball squad. The boy told police he fell in love with Chester as the two exchanged racy text messages and nude photographs of each other.
The boy’s parents confronted Chester in December after discovering the text messages. They agreed not to press charges if she resigned. Later, another teacher told the school’s principal about her relationship with the teen, who referred the matter to police.
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