Edwards photo Miller County Sheriff
TUSCUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A former seventh-grade science teacher at School of the Osage has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after he provided academic help to female students in exchange for being allowed to have sexual contact with them.
Mark Edwards, 46, of Eldon was originally charged with four counts of inappropriate sexual behavior with a student but pleaded guilty in November to to one count of statutory sodomy. He was sentenced Friday, The Jefferson City News-Tribune reported.
As part of the plea, a charge of child molestation was dropped and two counts of sexual contact with a student were sent to an associate court for later action.
Edwards was accused of providing female students with answers to tests and assignments in exchange for being allowed to look down their shirts and touch them, or to make sexually explicit or suggestive comments and sexually abuse and assault them, prosecutors said.
Edwards also is subject to lifetime supervision as a sexual predator.
A student and the student's family are suing Edwards, the school district and district officials. The case is scheduled to go to a jury trail in October, according to federal court records.