COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) – A former Mississippi high school teacher has been convicted of soliciting a student for sex.
Thirty-five-year-old Michael Jackson was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison, with five of those years suspended. News outlets report the Columbus High School student was 17 at the time. The former chorus teacher also was sentenced to register as a sex offender and pay a fine.
WTVA-TV reports Jackson’s attorney, Chris Kitchens, has said he will request a retrial. The Commercial Dispatch quotes Kitchens as saying probation would have been a reasonable sentence, as Jackson lost his right to teach. District Attorney Scott Colom said in court that the student requested Jackson be sentenced to seven years.
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