Apparently the juries in Columbus, Georgia haven’t heard of the double standard for female teachers accused of having sex with underage boys. Typically, these ladies get probation or a brief (months) jail term, while their male counterparts receives years and years in prison.
But not this time. This time a jury slapped former teacher Cristina Preston, 45, with a LIFE sentence, with no chance of parole for 25 years after she was caught in a parked car in a park with underage boy.
A jury of six men and six women Wednesday found Preston, 45, guilty of all the charges against her: aggravated child molestation, child molestation, statutory rape and sexual assault on a person in custody. Superior Court Judge John Allen sentenced her to life in prison with 25 years to serve before she’s eligible for parole, after which she will spend the rest of her life on probation and have to register as a sex offender. Allen also prohibited her having contact with any minors other than her own children, and having any contact with the victim, now 15. The jury deliberated almost six hours Wednesday after attorneys delivered their closing statements. Preston was accused of initiating the relationship on Halloween 2011, when the student was 13. Their sexual encounters continued after the boy turned 14 five days later, but ended Jan. 30, 2012, when deputies caught the two parked together in the dark at 12:42 a.m. in Columbus’ Cooper Creek Park, said prosecutor Don Kelly. He said Preston was 44 when she started the affair.
