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Teacher who had student's baby gets one-year sentence

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A lawyer for a teen who fathered a child with a California teacher said the teacher got off easy in her trial for having sex with boys because "she is a woman."

Attorney Heather Cullen her client and his family were shocked at the plea agreement under which Laura Elizabeth Whitehurst is to serve one year in jail, and called it a "slap in the face to the victims," the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

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Whitehurst, 28, taught for six years at Citrus Hills High School in the Redlands Unified School District in San Bernardino County. She pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual intercourse and two of oral sex with two underage and was sentenced this week.

Cullen said the teen and his family are considering a lawsuit because they want to make sure other students are protected.

"This is a very short sentence for such crimes," Cullen said. "It's shocking anyone would face so little time for abusing minors. This is definitely being treated differently because they are boys and she is a woman."

Whitehurst had a baby June 18, with the father, now 17, present during the delivery. His mother complained to police soon afterward and she was arrested July 1.

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After serving her jail sentence, Whitehurst must serve five years' probation and undergo counseling, and she must register as a sex offender for the rest of her life. She resigned this month from her teaching job.

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