"She manipulated me and had total control. She used her marriage, family and career to keep me from saying anything," the teenage victim said in a statement that was read in court.
A Pennsylvania teenager said that she was manipulated into keeping quiet about the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of her teacher in an emotional court statement.
That teacher, 31-year-old Emily Lehneis, pled guilty to one count of institutional sexual assault involving a student and one count of corruption of minors back in September, according to the York County Southern Regional Police Department.
Last week, a judge sentenced Lehneis, who is currently pregnant with her third child, to one year in prison and five years of probation after her victim's impact statement was read aloud in court.
"She manipulated me and had total control. She used her marriage, family and career to keep me from saying anything," the teenage victim said in a statement that was read in court by Chief Deputy District Attorney Taylor Katherman according to the York Dispatch. “I’m trying to get by each day with breathing techniques and trying not to cry.”
In that statement, the teenager said that her relationship with Lehneis began at the start of the 2022 school year at Susquehannock High School, and alleged that the two exchanged sexually explicit photos and videos while also once sharing a kiss at the school. The teen alleged in her statement that Lehneis at one point asked her to be her "secret girlfriend."
The York County Southern Regional Police Department said it launched a six-month investigation in January of last year after hearing allegations about Lehneis’ inappropriate relationship with a high school student.
Lehneis was put on paid leave, but a few days later she resigned from her job, according to school administrators.
Her lawyer, Robert O’Brien, argued for a lenient sentence, citing his client's pregnancy in court.
“She’s not an evil person, and I don’t believe to protect society she has to be put in jail at the top of the range,” said O'Brien, according to the York Dispatch.
Lehneis also addressed her victim and the victim's family in her court statement.
“I want … her family to know how sorry I am for what I did,” Lehneis said. “I have no excuse for what I did, and I cannot understand how I let myself do what I did.”
These statements failed to sway York County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kathleen Prendergast, who noted that Lehneis' actions meant that a teenager would now serve a lifelong sentence as a victim of sexual abuse.
“That is a sentence the defendant imposed on her for which she did nothing to deserve." said Judge Prendergast.
