Virginia Teacher Gets No Jail in Sex Case - Updated

(Christiansburg, Virginia) Yesterday, former Christiansburg High School teacher Diana Eckes Canter, 35, "quietly" pleaded no contest to eight reduced charges of misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Canter had initially been charged with eight felonies. The changes were made "after consultation with the victim."

Circuit Court Judge Bobby Turk sentenced her to 12 months in jail on each charge, with four of the sentences running consecutively and four concurrently, for a total of 48 months.

Turk suspended the entire sentence and ordered Canter to spend 24 months on probation with 12 months supervised, perform 200 hours of community service and have no contact with the victim or his family. He also fined her $2,000.

The victim was a 17-year-old senior when the sexual relations occurred. He is now a 19-year-old graduate who claims he was suicidal after the affair ended.

Defense attorney Tony Anderson said Canter is remorseful.

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Virginia Teacher Accused of Sex with Male Student
[Previous 7/21/10 post bumped]
(Christiansburg, Virginia) A 34-year-old English teacher formerly at Christiansburg High School, Diana Eckes Canter, was arrested yesterday for allegedly engaging in sex with a male student.

Canter faces eight felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor as someone in a custodial or supervisory position having sexual intercourse with a minor.

The offenses were reported to have occurred between December 2008 and August 2009 and the boy is no longer a student in the Montgomery County school system, Wilburn said. So far, she said, the investigation indicates none of the offenses took place on campus.

Canter was booked into custody at the Montgomery County Jail with bond set at $5,000.