10/26/05 11:05 PDT
REDWOOD CITY (BCN)
A Redwood City private school teacher appeared in a San Mateo County Superior courtroom today where she was sentenced to six months in
county jail for having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student.
Joan Marie Sladky, 28, pleaded no contest to four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, penetration with a foreign object and oral copulation in
connection with the physical encounters she had with the teen between December 2003 and January 2004.
Under a plea bargain Sladky made with the prosecution she faced the possibility of no more than one year in jail plus three years probation.
However, Superior Court Judge Mark Forcum said Sladky's "acceptance of responsibility" should be taken into account in terms of the
sentencing.
Sladky at the time of the affair was a high school Spanish teacher and the victim was her pupil at a private Baptist school in unincorporated
Redwood City.
Sladky, whose relationship with the victim spanned over six months, had sex with the student once at the his home and three times at her home,
which is on the church/school property.
Edward Pomeroy, Sladky's defense attorney, said that while his client "betrayed the student teacher relationship," it was she who confessed to
the illegal encounters that occurred.
"My client was the party that came forward and freely confessed this," Pomeroy said.
Sladky reported the relationship after another teacher at the school confronted her and the pair of teachers talked about the situation with the
school pastor.
The sentencing of Sladky was postponed earlier, as Forcum wanted to hear from the victim about how the relationship has affected him, but the
victim declined to talk at length about it.
According to Forcum, "the actual victim was reluctant to talk about (the relationship)," though the victim did express that sending Sladky to jail
would be unnecessary.
However Forcum later said, "I do think jail time is acceptable because of the victim's age."
According to Pomeroy, the victim is currently a college student in Santa Clara who has "put the matter behind him," though earlier reports stated
the victim was "scarred" by the relationship.
Sladky will be taken into custody on Dec. 2 at 7 a.m. at which time she will begin her six-month term.
http://www.cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2005/10/26/n/HeadlineNews/SLADKY-SENTENCING/resources_bcn_html
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Guv'mint
Skoolin'
"DUHMAG.COM"
2005
