Janelle Bird was recently sentenced to two years in prison for having sex with a student:

A former teacher was sentenced Wednesday to two years in state prison for having sex with a student.

Janelle Marie Bird, 25, had previously been found guilty of two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and two lesser counts of unnatural and lascivious acts. She faced up to 30 years in prison.

Bird admitted having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy at East Hill Christian School. Both testified during the trial that they loved each other.

Bird will be appealing the sentence.

This was a pretty lurid case. From Hott for Teacher’s archives:

Janelle Bird, 25, said she loved him so much that, despite a Pensacola Christian College education that preached against premarital sex, she gave him her virginity.

“He made me feel really comfortable and safe, and I trusted him,�? the former East Hill Christian School biology teacher said while sobbing.

“At some point, it hit me that this was not something I should be doing. I betrayed the trust of his parents, and I tried to break it off … and he said ‘You can’t do this to me,’ �? Bird said Thursday during her more than hourlong testimony.

This woman has serious issues:

Tears rolling down her face, a former teacher who faces up to 60 years in prison testified there was nothing lewd and lascivious about her relationship with her 15-year-old student — just love.

Janelle Bird, 25, said she loved him so much that, despite a Pensacola Christian College education that preached against premarital sex, she gave him her virginity.

“He made me feel really comfortable and safe, and I trusted him,” the former East Hill Christian School biology teacher said while sobbing.

“At some point, it hit me that this was not something I should be doing. I betrayed the trust of his parents, and I tried to break it off … and he said ‘You can’t do this to me,’ ” Bird said Thursday during her more than hourlong testimony.

The kid also talked about Bird:

The teen testified that he had loved Bird. But when asked by defense attorney Jerry Allred if he still loved her, the 16-year-old responded with, “Uh . . . nah.”

Bird will be sentenced on October 4th, and she’s facing up to 30 years.

Bird is a 25 year old teacher who worked at East Hill Christian School in Florida. She’s charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious battery and two counts of unlawful sexual activity with her student:

At one point in her career, she earned sterling performance reports from East Hill Christian School, which the student attended before moving to another school.

[...]

Her attorney, Jerry Allred, asked potential jurors how they felt about Mary Kay Letourneau and Debra Lafave, teachers who were charged with having sex with their underage students in sensational cases that grabbed national attention.

[...]

Bird was a first-year teacher at Escambia High School when the allegations surfaced in October 2005.

The aunt of the student, who is now 16, called the school and accused the teacher of engaging in a sexual relationship with the unidentified boy, said Escambia County School District spokesman Ronnie Arnold.

The aunt reported that the alleged relationship began at East Hill Christian School two years ago when Bird was a science teacher there and the boy was a student, Arnold said.

The Escambia County School District suspended Bird, a reading teacher, with pay after the allegations surfaced.

A month later, the School Board fired her.

[...]

Bird is a 2003 graduate of Pensacola Christian College and a 1999 graduate of New Life Christian School in Virginia, Minn., according to her resume.

Interesting background if these charges turn out to be true.