Female Teacher Gets 66 Years for Child Molestation

(Corydon, Indiana) A 35-year-old married mother-of-two and substitute teacher for the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated Schools, Jennifer Jacobi, pleaded guilty to multiple child sex crimes last week and was sentenced to 66 years in prison.

Judge Roger D. Davis accepted a plea agreement and sentenced Jacobi to 76 years in prison and suspended 10 of those.

The conviction against Jacobi was for her performing oral sex upon and fondling a child under age 14, said Harrison Deputy Prosecutor Michelle MarQuand. Jacobi had a long-term relationship with a known pedophile incarcerated in Maine and procured a child for him during his visit to Harrison County, MarQuand said. The man, Richard Prado, later committed suicide.

"Her crime in and of itself was terrible, regardless of who did this," MarQuand said. "It was truly a very horrible situation."

MarQuand declined to identify the child's gender or give further details, but said it had nothing to do with Jacobi's former substitute teaching.

"I don't want people to feel alarmed and quiz their kids about what happened," MarQuand said.

Jacobi's attorney, Nicholas Haverstock of Corydon, said that he and his client were satisfied with the outcome considering the situation.

"This sentence gives her a chance to get out of prison before she dies," Haverstock said.

Jacobi still faces sentencing on child molestation charges in federal court. As part of the plea agreement, she will be sentenced to 35 years to run concurrently with her Harrison County sentence. A federal judge must first approve the agreement for it to be valid.

With confidence, I predict that she won't do the full 66 years in the slammer.