Apr 27, 2008 1:35 pm US/Eastern
Howard Co. Teacher Sentenced To 5 Years In Jail
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Joseph Ellis was sentenced to five years behind bars for sending explicit pictures to a student.
A former Howard County teacher convicted of sending explicit pictures to a former female student learned his fate at a sentencing hearing Friday.
Kai Jackson reports that hearing got underway around 2 p.m. Friday and went late into the night.
Defendant Joseph Ellis, 27, was sentenced to five years behind bars.
The former history and government teacher at Glenelg High School was convicted in January of sexual abuse of a minor, indecent exposure and telephone misuse.
Charging documents say Ellis exposed himself to a 17-year-old student, tried to get her to touch him inappropriately, sent her naked pictures over the Internet and sexually explicit text messages to her cell phone.
The state called a social worker to the stand. The defense had a doctor from Johns Hopkins testify that Ellis had sustained a head injury in 2003 which may have caused his inappropriate behavior.
A letter from the victim detailing her experience and detailing how her life has been since then was read aloud in court. Ellis cried when that letter was read.
Ellis' response was an apology.
"I'm sorry for everything that I put you through. I can only hope that you can forgive me someday. I take full responsibility for my actions," said Ellis.
The judge said because Ellis was a teacher in a position of trust, it made the crime even more significant.
He must register as a child sex offender and can no longer have contact with anyone under 18.
In her impact statement the victim said, "I am confident I will never be able to trust a man ever again in my life."
That had a huge impact on the judge who has children himself.
Ellis is one of three Howard County teachers arrested during the 2006-2007 school year and charged with having sexual contact with a minor.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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