Special Ed Teacher Sentenced To State Prison For Sex Acts With Students

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — A Corona special education teacher who engaged in sex acts with five male students was sentenced Friday to three years in state prison, prosecutors said.

Summer Michelle Hansen, 32, pleaded guilty in February to multiple sex-related charges.

Hansen pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to seven counts of oral copulation of a minor, six counts of statutory rape and three counts of distributing pornographic material to a child, the district attorney's office added.

She struck a plea deal with the judge that will require she spend three years in state prison. Prosecutors were opposed to this deal. Hansen faced a maximum of 15 years.

Hansen remained free on $150,000 bail until she was remanded into custody during Friday's sentencing.

"I'm not a monster. I've made bad choices in life," a sobbing Hansen said in court, according to CBS2/KCAL9's Tom Wait. "For that, I'm truly sorry."

According to the Corona Police Department, school district officials notified officers about a possible inappropriate relationship between Hansen and a former student in June 2013.

Officers were able to conclude during a preliminary investigation that Hansen engaged in inappropriate contact with the victims, who were students at Centennial High School, on numerous occasions.

District Attorney Spokesman John Hall explained the crimes took place from May 2012 to May 2013.

Hall added they occurred inside Hansen's classroom, a utility room at the school, in her vehicle parked near one victim's home and at another victim's home.

The investigation subsequently resulted in the charges and arrest of Hansen, officers said.

Her employment was terminated in 2013.