Former Visalia teacher Lianne Trout was sentenced to 185 days in jail after she was convicted of 4 counts of sex with a minor.
Trout told her attorney she takes full responsibility for having sex with a 16-year-old student at Mt. Whitney High School in fall of 2011.
Jeff Hammerschmidt, Lianne Trout's Attorney said, "She knows her conduct was inappropriate there were a lot of factors that went into it were not something she sought out to happen."
At the time, Trout had just recently been hired on as a special education teacher. Shortly after her arrest she resigned from the Visalia Unified School District.
In July of 2012 Trout pleaded "no contest" to the five felony charges, four for having unlawful sex with a minor and another sexual assault charge. Judge Gary Paden agreed to sentence her to 185 days in jail for the crimes. Prosecutors disagreed with the sentence.
Matt Darby, Prosecutor said, "We would ask that prison would be imposed based on the fact the defendant the community's children were entrusted to her and she betrayed that trust."
Prosecutors also felt trout should be required to register as a sex offender for life. Instead, the judge allowed her sex offender registration to last only five years, the term of her probation.
Anthony Fultz, Tulare Co. Asst. District Attorney said, "Any time an adult preys on a child we feel that is serious enough that it does warrant a lifetime of registration just to protect future victims."
"She's taken responsibility for her actions and the judge came up with a sentence he thought was fair and she accepts it," Hammerschmidt said.
Trout was ordered back to jail on April 29 which is when she will serve out her sentence.
