Ex-Teacher Gets Jail For Student Sex

A former teacher was sentenced Wednesday to two years in state prison for having sex with a student.

Janelle Marie Bird, 25, had previously been found guilty of two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and two lesser counts of unnatural and lascivious acts. She faced up to 30 years in prison.

Bird admitted having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy at East Hill Christian School. Both testified during the trial that they loved each other.

Defense attorney Jerry Allred had asked that Bird be placed on probation and serve no time in prison. A telephone message left at his office after business hours was not returned.

As a result of her conviction, Bird must register as a sex offender with local authorities wherever she lives for the rest of her life.

Allred said Bird plans to appeal the sentence and could be free on bond during her appeal, the Pensacola News Journal reported for Thursday's editions.

Bird left East Hill Christian School in June 2005 for a job with the Escambia County School District. She was teaching reading to ninth- and 10th-grade students at Escambia High School when the allegations surfaced and she was fired.