Teacher sentenced for sex with 12-year-old

LEXINGTON, Neb., April 24 (UPI) -- A former Nebraska schoolteacher must serve two 8- to 10-year prison terms for having a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old student, a judge said.

Dawson County District Court Judge Jim Doyle Thursday sentenced Kelsey Peterson of Lexington to serve the sentences concurrently with a six-year federal sentence she received last year on a conviction for crossing state lines with a person younger than 18 to have sex, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Prosecutors said Peterson, 27, fled to Mexico with Fernando Rodriguez, who was 12 when the relationship with Peterson began. The former teacher was arrested in Mexicali, Mexico, the newspaper said.

Peterson pleaded for mercy from Doyle before the sentencing, apologizing for her actions in between sobs, saying, "I fully apologize. I never meant to hurt Fernando or his family, my family or my community."