Following Entry Posted 11/19/2005 04:08:00 PM

Teacher Gets Year for Rape of Student

(Sacramento, California) Former McClatchy High School intern teacher Margaret De Barraicua was sentenced yesterday to 365 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to four felony counts of statutory rape. De Barraicua, 31, was originally arrested in February after being found having sex with a 16-year-old boy in her car behind Leonardo Da Vinci Elementary School in Sacramento. Police said she had her 2-year-old son in the back seat at the time.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Talmadge R. Jones said "Her moral compass was broken," as he imposed the jail sentence and five years probation. To the dismay of the prosecution, Judge Jones declined to require her to register as a sex offender even though her felony sex acts were considered "premeditated." Nonetheless, the judge was lenient.

From SacBee.com:

Jones credited the woman for her work as a volunteer at community organizations that help the poor. It is clear De Barraicua has a "big heart," he said.

"Your big heart got you in trouble in that it didn't know limits of emotional love and sexual love," the judge said.

The judge allowed De Barraicua to remain free through the Thanksgiving holiday to spend with her family and ordered her to report to the Sacramento County jail on Dec. 2.

Sniff ... sniff ...
|