Christy Lee Smith
Former teacher Christy Lee Smith will spend at least 20 years in prison for having sex with two students, a judge ordered Wednesday.
Smith "preyed" on the boys, who attended schools in different Lancaster County school districts, while teaching English at McCaskey High School between 2008 and 2010, Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker said at her sentencing.
Reinaker ordered Smith to serve 20 to 40 years in state prison. A jury convicted her of 18 sex crimes in the summer.
Smith, dressed in blue prison scrubs and wearing glasses and shoulder-length hair, showed no reaction when the judge announced the sentence.
When Reinaker asked if she had anything to say for herself, she shook her head and whispered, "No."
It was the only time she spoke during the hourlong hearing.
One of the victims watched from the courtroom gallery. Several of Smith's supporters also attended.
The victims were 15 and 17 when Smith, 34, committed the crimes, according to trial testimony.
"There are some who wrongfully believe that situations such as this don't truly have victims," Reinaker said. "That because it involved a female adult and male teenagers that it's less serious than those where the situation is reversed.
"That is simply not the case."
The victims testified in detail at the trial about how they believed Smith was their girlfriend. Smith was aware of their ages, according to testimony.
McCaskey colleagues told Smith that she was getting too close to one of the victims, according to testimony.
"By all accounts, you were a good teacher, someone who was able to connect well with your students," Reinaker said. "But you proved incapable of knowing where to draw the line in terms of those connections."
While crediting the McCaskey staff that tried to warn Smith about the relationship, Reinaker scolded district administrators for not looking out for the victim.
"I would be remiss in not recognizing the wholly inappropriate response in this case by the School District of Lancaster," he said. "It's clear that at no point was this situation taken seriously."
Multiple staff members testified that they notified administrators about the "red flags" they saw between Smith and the student.
"Every step of the way, it was the student who bore the negative consequences of these suspicions, as though the reputation of the school district and the teacher were the primary concerns.
"Even at trial, the testimony of some school district officials seemed to reflect that they viewed the whole matter as a joke. Obviously, the (district) still has some learning to do on the appropriate response to allegations such as these."
The other victim, a Solanco student at the time, testified that he had a yearlong relationship with Smith after meeting her at a dance class.
"She absolutely shows a pattern of liking teenage boys," Assistant District Attorney Karen Mansfield said at sentencing. "She went from one to the other.
"This case reminds us that women can engage in predatory behavior."
Defense lawyer Merrill Spahn asked Reinaker to consider Smith's good deeds and accomplishments.
"While respecting the jury's verdict, she has not and does not agree with the verdict," Spahn said. "That opinion has not changed."
