Girl, 15, sexually assaulted by teacher, faces him in court as he is given 15 years in prison
A 15-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by her teacher faced him in court as he was handed a 15-year prison sentence.
Jeff Ranstrom, 32, who was a teacher and basketball coach at Eagle High School, appeared in an Idaho court on Tuesday for sentencing, where his teenage victim told him how his textbook grooming had left her depressed and suicidal.
The victim told the court: 'I trusted him as a teacher, friend, and mentor, and unfortunately that trust was betrayed.'
Former Eagle High School coach, Jeff Ranstrom, 32, (pictured) was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years for the sexual abuse of a minor
Despite Ranstrom's attempt to apologize for his crimes, Judge Medema handed down a 15-year sentence for one count of sexual assault of a minor.
'She looked up to you, she trusted you, she was being emotionally vulnerable with you, and you took advantage of all of those things so you could get what you want,' Judge Medema said, according to KTVB.
Defending counsel implored the judge to consider all aspects of Ranstrom's actions after the events, suggesting that the 32-year-old had handed himself in to authorities after seeing the error of his ways.
Ranstrom used a campaign of 'textbook grooming' on the young schoolgirl, according to an Idaho prosecutor on Tuesday
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ShareThe former teacher quit his job and handed himself in to cops in October after the girl's family discovered the relationship.
Prosecutor John Dinger claimed that the former teacher had continuously played down the severity of his crime, referring to it as an 'affair', rather than as what it was.
He went on to implore a lengthy sentence for the defendant, claiming that his support network didn't consider the crimes as serious either.
The girl recalled the events of the relationship in the courtroom, claiming that he had wedged himself into her life with small acts of affection.
Ranstrom quit his job at Eagle High School (pictured) in October after the 15-year-old's family found out about his abuse
Dinger referred to the holding of hands, offering her babysitting jobs and giving her lifts to out-of-town games as 'textbook grooming'.
After some months becoming a father figure in the youngster's life, Ranstrom expressed his desire to make the relationship sexual.
He offered a 'hybrid relationship', which would allow them to appear like father and daughter in public but they would be intimate with each other behind closed doors.
She said he began to force sex acts on her and became envious of other teenagers who expressed interest in her.
'He took so much from me, and things that can never be replaced,' she said, according to ktvb.
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