A Texas middle school teacher has been ordered to serve just two months in jail for sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy, but her sentence has been delayed because she recently had a baby, KPRC-TV reports.
On Tuesday, Harris County Judge George Glass sentenced 32-year-old Marka Bodine to 60 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Prosecutors had sought 20 to 40 years in prison for Bodine and were outraged at the light sentence, as she could have been sentenced to life behind bars.
“There are certain types of cases that, in my opinion, really should only warrant punishment, and that is this kind of case,” Harris County Assistant District Attorney Janna Oswald told the television station.
“I’m heartbroken for the complainant and his family. I’m really disappointed in the outcome as a prosecutor – a child abuse prosecutor – and I’m disappointed as a citizen of Harris County.”
The jail term will be delayed because Bodine recently gave birth, although the victim is not the father. She has until June 5, 2023, to report to jail. She will also be on probation for 10 years and must register as a sex offender and undergo therapy, ABC 13 reports.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Bodine reportedly first met the boy while working as an English teacher at Tomball Intermediate School, where the boy was a sixth grader in her class. She later began talking with him on the game Fortnite and texting soon followed.
According to court documents, an investigation began after the victim called police and said Tomball had been carrying on an inappropriate relationship with him.
“It was definitely a cry out for help. He had reached out to a school, and he reached out to the police department as well, so I think he just became overwhelmed with it and reached out to us,” Tomball Police Chief Jeff Bert previously said.
The messages turned explicit and Bodine started sexually abusing the victim soon after he turned 13 years old. The abuse lasted for three years and occurred in Bodine’s classroom and in her car.
After Bodine divorced, she moved into the same apartment complex where the victim lived.
Authorities discovered the abuse after Bodine reported to a school principal that a former student was harassing her and that he was threatening to harm himself.
Investigators subsequently searched phones belonging to the victim and to Bodine and came across the explicit communications.
Bodine admitted to police that she sent inappropriate images and videos and that she also abused the victim, who is now 16 years old.
Dustan Neyland, Bodine’s defense lawyer, said the sentence was fitting given the circumstances of the case.
“The court weighed in on all facts presented regarding the offense conduct as well as any mitigating factors. No case is like another and not every case deserves prison. The court has the obligation to make findings of what is in the best interest of society as well as the victim in determining the sentence and we believe the Judge followed the law and handed down an appropriate punishment,” Neyland told KPRC-TV in a written statement.
However, the victim and his mother were dismayed by the light sentence and exited the courtroom as the sentencing proceeding was still ongoing.
“The complainant is incredibly strong and he’s gone through a lot. He got up on the stand in this punishment case and he told his truth, he told everything that happened to him and that takes so much bravery,” Oswald told KPRC-TV.
“He was incredibly upset. He left the courtroom in the middle of the judge declaring a sentence because he and his mother were very upset with the outcome.”
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[Featured image: Marka Lee Bodine/Police Handout; Twitter]
