BENTONVILLE -- A former teacher hugged her family outside the courtroom moments before she was sentenced to eight years in prison for having sex with a 13-year-old boy.
Mary McCormick, 33, of Siloam Springs appeared in court Thursday afternoon for sentencing. She pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault, a Class A felony, on July 14. She faced from six to 30 years in prison.
Her plea came under an agreement attorney Joel Huggins reached with Carly Marshall, deputy prosecutor, and Stuart Cearley, chief deputy prosecutor.
McCormick showed no emotion at sentencing and declined to address the court when given the opportunity by Circuit Judge Brad Karren.
Several members of McCormick's family sat on one side of the courtroom as the boy and his family sat on the opposite side. They all remained quiet through the short hearing.
McCormick was a sixth-grade language arts teacher at Siloam Springs Intermediate School. She was suspended with pay after her arrest, but later resigned.
One of her students was a sixth-grader who turned 13 in January of the 2013-14 school year, according to Marshall.
Marshall said in court earlier this month when McCormick pleaded guilty the former teacher had two sexual encounters with the boy. One happened at McCormick's house. The other was in a remote area after McCormick picked the boy up from a friend's house late one night, according to Marshall.
Marshall read a statement from the boy's mother Thursday.
"There are no words fitting to describe the pain and sorrow my whole family has suffered this past year," Marshall read. "We as a family have barely weathered through this storm. Although we see small bits of light at the end of the storm, our hearts are broken and our spirits are weary."
The family had to close its business and move to another town because of the harassment and negativity McCormick's crime brought, Marshall read. The mother felt she was responsible for leaving the gate open for the "wolf to attack my young innocent sheep," Marshall read.
"I have sent my child into the public school system for over six years not ever believing or thinking that one day his very own teacher of whom we should trust would be the wolf that would prey upon him," Marshall read.
The teen was a 4.0 student and an amazing athlete, but was robbed of his childhood, according the mother's statement.
McCormick stood near Huggins as Marshall read the statement.
Karren sentenced McCormick to eight years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. She will have to serve at least two years before she will be eligible for parole. She must abide by a suspended sentence agreement for 12 years after her release from prison. She will be required to register as a sex offender.
She must complete the prison's sex offender treatment program or the one at Ozark Guidance after her release from prison.
McCormick was ordered not to have any contact with the teen or any witnesses in the case. She also was ordered not to have any unsupervised contact with any minors except her biological children.
The bailiff handcuffed McCormick and led her from the courtroom. She later was taken to the Benton County Jail where she will be held until she's transferred to state prison.
McCormick's family prayed in a circle outside the courtroom after the proceedings ended. The teen and his family quietly left the building.
Siloam Springs police began an investigation Aug. 8, 2014, after receiving information accusing McCormick of engaging in sexual acts with the boy.
The boy told police he began to exchange messages with McCormick via Snapchat two weeks after the school year ended. The boy said McCormick sent him a photograph of her breasts and he sent a photo of himself to her, according the affidavit.
Snapchat is an electronic application allowing users to send photos and videos that disappear after a specified time, usually seconds, once the recipient views them.
The boy told police he had two sexual encounters with McCormick, according to court documents.
Tracy M. Neal can be reached by email at [email protected] or Twitter @NWATracy.
NW News on 07/31/2015