Ex-teacher gets 8-year sentence for sex with boy

She’s a wolf, teen’s mom says

Mary McCormick is escorted from the Benton County court annex building in downtown Bentonville on Thursday. The former Siloam Springs teacher was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old former student.
Mary McCormick is escorted from the Benton County court annex building in downtown Bentonville on Thursday. The former Siloam Springs teacher was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old former student.

BENTONVILLE -- A former teacher hugged her family members Thursday outside the courtroom moments before she was sentenced to eight years in prison for having sex with a 13-year-old boy.

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Mary McCormick, 33, of Siloam Springs appeared in court Thursday afternoon for sentencing. She pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault, a Class A felony, on July 14. She had faced from six to 30 years in prison.

Her plea was part of an agreement that her attorney Joel Huggins reached with Carly Marshall, Benton County deputy prosecutor, and Stuart Cearley, chief deputy prosecutor.

McCormick showed no emotion at the sentencing, and she declined to address the court when given the opportunity by Circuit Judge Brad Karren.

Several members of McCormick's family sat on one side of the courtroom. The boy and his family sat on the opposite side. They all remained quiet through the short hearing.

McCormick was a sixth-grade language arts teacher at Siloam Springs Intermediate School. She was suspended with pay after her arrest and later resigned.

One of her students was a sixth-grader who turned 13 in January of the 2013-14 school year, according to Marshall.

Marshall said in court earlier this month that McCormick had two sexual encounters with the boy. One happened at McCormick's house. The other was in a remote area after McCormick picked the boy up from a friend's house late one night, according to Marshall.

On Thursday, Marshall read a victim impact statement from the boy's mother.

"There are no words fitting to describe the pain and sorrow my whole family has suffered this past year," Marshall read. "We as a family have barely weathered through this storm. Although we see small bits of light at the end of the storm, our hearts are broken and our spirits are weary."

The boy's family had to close its business and move to another town because of the harassment and negativity McCormick's actions brought on it, Marshall read. The mother felt that she was responsible for leaving the gate open for the "wolf to attack my young, innocent sheep," Marshall read.

"I have sent my child into the public school system for over six years not ever believing or thinking that one day his very own teacher of whom we should trust would be the wolf that would prey upon him," Marshall read.

The boy had a 4.0 grade-point average and was an amazing athlete but was robbed of his childhood, according to the mother's statement.

McCormick stood near Huggins as Marshall read the statement.

Karren sentenced McCormick to eight years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. She will have to serve at least two years before she will be eligible for parole. After her prison release, she will have to abide by a suspended-sentence agreement for 12 years. She will be required to register as a sex offender.

Also, she will be required to complete the prison's sex offender treatment program or a program offered at Ozark Guidance after her release from prison.

McCormick was ordered to have no contact with the boy or any material witnesses in the case. She also was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with any minors except her biological children.

The bailiff handcuffed McCormick and led her from the courtroom. She later was taken to the Benton County jail where she will be held until she is transferred to prison.

McCormick's family prayed in a circle outside the courtroom after the proceedings ended. The boy and his family quietly left the building.

Siloam Springs police began an investigation Aug. 8, 2014, after receiving information that accused McCormick of engaging in sexual acts with the boy.

The boy told police that he began to exchange messages with McCormick via Snapchat two weeks after the school year ended. The boy said McCormick sent him a photograph of her breasts, and he sent a photo of himself to her, according the affidavit.

Snapchat is an electronic application that allows users to send photos and videos that disappear after a specified time, usually seconds, once the recipient sees them.

Metro on 07/31/2015

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