A Texas teacher who admitted having sex with a 13-year-old boy in her classroom will spend only 60 days in jail for her crime. Marka Bodine, 32, confessed to sexually abusing the boy for more than three years, but Harris County Judge George Glass handed down an extremely lenient sentence which he also delayed due to Bodine recently giving birth, ABC13 Houston reports.
- Bodine had no choice but to turn herself in. The former Tomball ISD teacher was arrested in April 2021 after she told the school’s principal that one of her old students was harassing her and threatening self-harm. The student in question was her 6th grade victim, and it wasn’t long before the horrific truth became apparent.
- She blatantly groomed the victim. The student told authorities that he and Bodine had played Fornite together when they first met and then began texting each other. They had sex for the first time in April 2018, just around the time the victim turned 13. Bodine had moved into the same apartment complex where the victim lived with his family and drove to his home to visit him on multiple occasions between July 2018 and March 2021. She also admitted to sending up to 40 explicit photographs to the young boy between April 2020 and February 2021.
- Prosecutors wanted to put Bodine behind bars for up to 40 years. Given her lack of remorse as well as the extreme nature of her crime, prosecutors believed she should have spent way more time behind bars, and pretty much everyone was shocked by Judge Glass’s extremely lenient sentence.
- Bodine has until June 5, 2023 to report to jail. The judge allowed her extra time to report due to being a new mom. While it’s understood the victim is not the father of her child, the father’s identity hasn’t been revealed. In addition to being on probation for 10 years, Bodine will have to register as a sex offender and undergo therapy.
