Teacher Gets Probation in Crack Cocaine Case

(Hudson, Massachusetts) At the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, a fifth-grade teacher at Forest Avenue School, Diane Soule, was arrested on charges of possessing and distributing crack cocaine. Soule was jailed and bailed out after a few hours. Two days later, she resigned her teaching position.

This week in Marlborough District Court, 55-year-old Soule was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty in accordance with an agreement. Soule admitted to possessing cocaine in return for dropping the distribution charge. Her trial was originally scheduled to start today and it's believed a jury would likely have sentenced her to prison.

Soule's sentence of two years probation also includes the customary supervision, evaluation, counseling, blah, blah blah .... that seldom seem to do much but keep counselors, supervisors and evaluators employed. And, and this is a big AND, if she stays out of trouble for two years, her record will be wiped clean.

No information was provided regarding the status of her teaching credentials.