Florida Teacher Megan Parris Jailed For Two & A Half Years After Pleading Guilty To Unlawful Sexual Activity With A Minor
A Florida teacher has been sentenced to two and a half years behind bars for sleeping with one of her students.
Former New Smyrna Beach high school teacher Megan Parris was jailed after she had a relationship with a teenage boy.
The 30-year-old reportedly began a relationship with the unidentified 16-year-old boy in 2019. They are said to have had sexual encounters in her car at a beachfront park, Wesh reported. She turned herself in at the time after a warrant for her arrest was issued.
Parris pled guilty to unlawful sexual activity with a minor, Click Orlando reported. She previously pleaded no contest to the charges, Wesh noted.
"I'm sorry to the victim and his family, I'm sorry to my family, I'm sorry to our town," Parris said in court. The student was not present at the sentencing.
“I take full responsibility for it, how mentoring somebody got from here to crossing that line, I'm not quite sure," she admitted. "I really to this day can't understand but I'm the adult and that line should have stopped with me. I should have stopped it."
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Some of her friends and family addressed the court and asked that Parris be sent home to her family and children, Wesh reported.
The former math teacher reportedly told judge Raul Zambrano that at the time, she was dealing with undiagnosed bipolar disorder. She has since gotten treatment for her condition, which is ongoing.
The student is said to have dropped out of school after Parris was arrested in 2019 and moved away from the area, according to the judge. Wesh noted that the victim is said to have asked for a Parris to get a lesser sentence than the five and a half years to 15 years in prison she could have received.
On top of the jail time, Parris will also be registered as a sex offender and will be on sex offender probation for a decade. Click Orlando reported that she will surrender her teaching license, undergo a mental health evaluation and must not have any contact with minors.
Wesh previously reported that Parris had told at least two friends about the relationship. She reportedly told one pal that she was having marital issues and told another that she was in love with the student. A police report noted that Parris and the student were often alone together with one student telling detectives that she was once asked to leave an area because the teacher needed time alone with the student.
