A teacher in Lake Charles, Louisiana has been sentenced to prison for having sexual contact with three students, ages 13 and 14.
Sommer Odom, 38, pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this year. She was sentenced to five years in prison for each charge, with all but 18 months suspended. She will be on supervised probation for four years after her release from jail.
Before she pleaded guilty, she faced multiple charges of oral sexual battery charge, child molestation charge and sexual battery.
Odom was arrested in April 2015 after a student’s mother reported that the teacher had sexual contact with her son on multiple occasions. In court, prosecutors said that Odom texted one victim several naked photos of herself. They also alleged that she performed a sex act on him in a classroom.
During sentencing on Friday, two mothers addressed the court, urging the judge to give Odom a harsh sentence.
“I was astonished at the whole thing when it happened because I considered myself to be an awesome parent,” one mother said, according to The American Press. “This flipped my household upside down. We send our kids to school to be taught but also to be protected by their teachers. It was wrong. It was so wrong.”
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Prosecutor Denisse Parrales addressed the court. “She endeared herself to the families, developed what would be a trusting relationship and preyed upon that relationship — and preyed upon these children,” said Parrales.
“She preyed on them as a trusted adult,” Parrales told the court. “The effect that that had on these boys, these are the formative years, and the event was tremendous. One of these victims did not attend high school. She really should not be around children.”
In court, the prosecutors alleged that Odom had attended juvenile sports games after her arrest, which they said was a sign that she was not remorseful. But Odom’s attorney, Walt Sanchez, said in court that she was at the parks to watch her own children play.
Odom was immediately taken into custody after her sentencing, PEOPLE confirms. Her attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.
