SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — It was a dramatic day in a South Bay courtroom as a former instructor confessed to her crimes.
Jacqueline Ma was as soon as named “instructor of the 12 months” earlier than it was found that she was committing intercourse crimes in opposition to two younger boys.
“I’m talking immediately as a result of I’m responsible of my crimes and I’m deeply ashamed of my actions,” Ma instructed the courtroom via tears. “I violated my authentic dedication to be the form of instructor all mother and father hope their kids can have.”
Ma confessed to her crimes in opposition to two younger boys, saying she deeply regretted the ache and struggling she induced at Lincoln Acres Elementary Faculty in Nationwide Metropolis.
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“I ripped away their childhood as an alternative of following the trail of what a instructor must be, I let my selfishness overrun the boys’ finest pursuits,” Ma mentioned.
In 2022, Ma was acknowledged as certainly one of San Diego County’s “lecturers of the 12 months.” However within the spring of 2023, the mom of a 12-year-old boy discovered sexually express messages between her son and Ma, together with one the place Ma instructed the boy she was in love with him.
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After the mom reported it to police, investigators found that Ma had not solely been shopping for items for the boy, she had additionally been having a sexual relationship with him.
Police later discovered proof that Ma additionally groomed an 11-year-old boy years earlier, nevertheless it ended when she took off her shirt in entrance of him inside a classroom. Prosecutors say he left the classroom out of worry.
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“I simply pray for an additional hand of safety and energy to all of these I’ve harm. I’m so sorry,” Ma mentioned in the course of the sentencing.
The sufferer’s relations didn’t converse in the course of the sentencing, however the prosecutor relayed their emotions concerning the crimes in opposition to the 2 kids.
“Discovering out that they have been abused by somebody who they trusted with their kids, and to care for his or her kids, was extremely devastating to each moms and each households,” mentioned Deputy District Legal professional Drew Hart.
Ma was given 30 years to life in jail, which means she won’t be eligible for parole for 30 years. She should additionally register as a intercourse offender.
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