Allennna Ward, SC Teacher Sentenced to Prison for Six Years Photos
Former teacher who admitted to having sex with teen boys was reportedly sent to prison for six years on Tuesday, despite testimony from a psychiatrist claiming that Allenna Ward is not a pedophile, but a childlike victim suffering from personality disorders and a repressed childhood. Donna Schwartz-Watts, the forensic psychiatrist testified that Ward who is a minister’s daughter lived a sheltered life who was unable to break away from the watchful eyes of her family. Schwartz-Watts said:
“Whenever she did something wrong her father immediately knew about it. When she dated, the only way that she could go out on a date was to sit in the living room with her parents watching.”
Schwartz-Watts tried to explain that Ward at age 24 married young and became a teacher which was the life expected of her, however, once she entered the classroom, she took on characteristics of a student.
Prosecutor Jerry Peace argued that:
“While sex education is a part of the curriculum, they had no idea that it would be so up close and personal.”
According to arrest warrants, Ward met the 14- and 15-year-old boys at the school where she taught, as well as at a motel, a park and behind a restaurant. Ward was caught when police began investigating last year after school officials found a note which was believed to have been written by Ward to one of the boys.
In court on Tuesday, Ward tearfully said:
“I apologize from the depths of my heart.”
Ward was sentenced to 15 years in prison for each of the three lewd act counts, but the punishments were suspended to six years.
I’m surprised at the testimony by the psychiatrist who claimed she wasn’t a pedophile. Regardless of her sheltered childhood, she had sex with students that weren’t of a legal age to consent. Perhaps she did act childlike in the classroom, but she did commit a crime by having sex with those teenagers and it’s a good thing she’s no longer teaching and will pay for her crime. If she’s not such a bad person, she can get the help she needs to rehabilitate herself during her time in the slammer and perhaps find a way to get her life back then.
Isn’t it crazy that we continue to hear these types of stories so often now?
