LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) - A former northwest Missouri junior high school teacher faces nine years in prison for having sex with a 14-year-old student.
Rhett C. Rigby of Oak Grove pleaded guilty in November in Clay County court to second-degree statutory rape and sexual contact with a student on public school property.
The Kansas City Star reports (http://bit.ly/1nERIyb) Rigby was charged in 2013 with 10 sex crimes. Eight of those counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
The courtroom was packed for Friday's sentencing. About 60 people were there to support Rigby.
The victim did not speak Friday, but her mother said the ordeal was a "nightmare from hell" for her daughter.
Kearney superintendent William Nicely said Rigby committed a shameful violation of public trust and left a "mile-wide path of destruction."