The teenager stood in front of the courtroom Thursday with her journal in hand.
It would most likely be her last chance to speak directly to Gregory R. Lee, the 53-year-old former Dublin Scioto High School teacher who collected hundreds of nude images of her and had sex with the minor on more than one occasion.
Lee was minutes away from being sentenced to almost 22 years in prison for child pornography.
His manipulation and abuse cost the victim her family’s trust and her health as she continues to battle depression and suicidal thoughts, she said.
“I want it back, my old life, but you took it away,” she told Lee. “I fear every man I meet will end up like you.”
Lee appeared Thursday in federal court in Columbus before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson, who in addition to the 262-month prison term also sentenced Lee to 20 years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.
“The kind of havoc this causes in people’s lives ... is immeasurable,” Judge Watson said. "There are no winners in a situation like this; there is only devastation on both sides."
In September, Lee pleaded guilty in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession, distribution and receipt of nude photos of the 15-year-old female student. His sentencing on the state charges is scheduled for Monday.
Lee taught U.S. history, psychology and sociology at the Dublin high school for 22 years. He also served as a track coach.
Between November 2016 and May 2017, he engaged in sex with the student in his classroom and in his car at a public park, according to the federal complaint filed against him.
The FBI found 234 images of the student in a USB drive recovered from the former teacher's car, and more on his phone, including 49 depicting the girl in various stages of nudity. Lee also sent her nude images of himself.
In late May, the girl's mother contacted Dublin police after discovering explicit descriptions of at least one act of oral sex between the girl and Lee in her daughter's personal journal, prompting the investigation.
The Dublin school district put Lee on administrative leave and demanded he resign, which he did.
The victim’s father described his overwhelming pride when his daughter enrolled in Lee’s advanced placement history class.
“That became a nightmare,” he said.
Judge Watson and the victim noted in court that she was not the first or only female student that Lee manipulated or made uncomfortable.
Investigators also found nude images of another former female student of Lee’s. The former student confirmed she took the cellphone photographs when she was 17 and sent them to him.
An October review of Lee's personnel file by The Dispatch revealed concerns about his behavior stretching most of his 22 years teaching in the district, back to at least 1997.
On Sept. 19, the state Board of Education voted to permanently bar Lee from teaching.
Before his tenure at Dublin Scioto, Lee also worked as a substitute teacher, taught at Thomas Worthington High School and coached at Capital University.
“Teachers are some of the most important people, as parents, we entrust our children to. Your conduct besmirches that entire profession,” Judge Watson said. “As a society we don’t compensate them enough for what they do. It makes your breach all the more stark.”
In court Thursday, Lee apologized to the hundreds of students who had been under his care at Dublin Scioto, as well as to the victim, her family and his own relatives in the courtroom.
“I’m sincerely sorry,” Lee said. “I ask for their forgiveness as much for their benefit as for mine.”
mrenault@dispatch.com
@MarionRenault
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