A substitute teacher was sentenced to 15 years in prison for repeatedly having sex with a 13-year-old boy and filming the encounters — as the pervert’s lawyer offered a mind-boggling excuse for the abuse, according to federal prosecutors.
Andrea Lee Campos-Hernandez, a 26-year-old teacher from Warden, Wash., pleaded guilty to filming the sexual encounters and sending him racy photos of herself for more than a year, according to prosecutors with the Eastern Washington District U.S.
In an emotional statement to the court, the mother of the victim told Judge Thomas O. Rice that “one of the most painful memories I carry is hearing my son cry alone in his room in the middle of the night.
“I did not know what was going through his mind or how deeply he was hurting because he could not bring himself to talk about it,” she said during last week’s sentencing hearing.
The victim also addressed Campos-Hernandez in the courtroom, telling her “you no longer get to control my voice.”
“You took away parts of my childhood that I will never get back,” he said.
The abuse began in Feb. 2021 and continued until July 2022, when the victim was 15.
The boy’s family had become suspicious of the relationship and told her to stay away, according to the Tri-City Herald. They later reported the teacher to police, telling investigators they believe she was manipulating him by buying him things.
Assistant United States Attorney Ann T. Wick wrote in court documents that the boy’s classmates and teammates learned about what happened, “making him the subject of gossip and poor, insensitive humor.” As a result, he’s avoided socializing, Wick said.
Campos-Hernandez’s defense attorney argued that in the tiny town of Warden, which has a population of about 2,500 and is located about 200 miles east of Seattle, young adults and adolescents regularly socialize together, and the teacher misunderstood their relationship, according to the Herald.
A psychologist testified that Campos-Hernandez was not a sexual deviant or child predator, but was socially immature and lacked self esteem.
Prosecutors argued back that she was a trained teacher and clearly had to know what she was doing was wrong.
The victim’s sister asked in court that the judge impose a sentence that “sends a clear message that every child deserves the same protection, compassion and justice, regardless of the gender of the victim or offender.”
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