She went from Teacher of the Year to having the book thrown at her.
Jacqueline Ma, 36, is heading to prison for grooming and sexually abusing a pair of elementary school students. On Friday, a judge sentenced her to 30 years behind bars, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Ma, San Diego County’s Teacher of the Year in late 2022, was arrested in April 2023 and pleaded guilty in February to two counts each of forcible lewd acts on a child and possession of matter depicting a minor engaging in sexual conduct.
The disgraced educator taught fifth- and sixth-graders at Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City.
At her sentencing Friday, Ma said she was “deeply ashamed of my actions,” and apologized for ripping “away their childhood.”
“Instead of following the path of what a teacher should be, I let my selfishness override the boys’ best interests,” she told the court through tears.
“I just pray for an extra hand of protection and strength to all of those I’ve hurt. I’m so sorry.”
Police began investigating Ma after the mother of a 12-year-old boy she’d been grooming contacted authorities upon finding love letters and suggestive text messages she’d written to the child.
The grooming occurred over a 10-month period, prosecutors said.
Years before, police claim Ma had also groomed an 11-year-old boy.
Neither victim or their parents attended Friday’s sentencing.
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