A Kentucky high school teacher was sentenced on Thursday for raping a 17-year-old student back in 2018.
Haley Reed, 38, former choir teacher at Oldham County High School, was sentenced to five years on charges of unlawful transaction with a minor and rape, third degree. The sentences will run concurrently for a total of five years.
Reed is not eligible for probation. She will also be required to complete sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender for life, according to the commonwealth's attorney.
Reed Accused of Having Sex with the Student 8 Times
In June 2018, she was arrested after authorities allege she admitted to having sex with a teen student eight times between April 1 and June 1. All the alleged incidents occurred on school property. Reed, who was married at the time of the alleged incidents, had taught at the school district since 2008.
In 2019, attorneys for Reed argue that the unidentified student was old enough to consent to a sexual relationship. Her attorney claimed that a teenager between the ages of 16 and 18 can consent to having sexual contact under a specific Kentucky statute. But a different Kentucky statute — the one under which Reed was charged — says that it is rape in the third degree for a person in a position of authority or special trust has sex with someone under 18.
The defense argued that the two Kentucky statutes conflicted with each other, and that the 17-year-old student should have been able to consent to having sex with Reed.
Victim Called Reed a 'Predator,' 'Monster'
On Thursday, the victim told the court, "This woman did everything in her power to try and cut me off from my friends and family, as well as make sure she was my whole world." He called Reed a "predator' and a "monster" and urged the judge not to continue to let her walk free.
"If I was a girl and she were a man, it would be a much different story, a pedophile is a pedophile. She deserves the maximum sentence," he said.
