A former suburban Philadelphia high school math teacher wept in court Friday as she read an apology letter after she was sentenced to 30 days in jail followed by 60 days on house arrest for having sex with a student, and must also register as a sex offender.
Erica Ginnetti, 35, of Philadelphia pleaded guilty in Montgomery County last year to institutional sex assault and disseminating sexually explicit materials to a minor.
Prosecutors said the former Lower Moreland High School teacher sent sexually explicit text messages and videos to the student before they had sex in her vehicle in July 2013. Authorities said she began flirting with the 17-year-old when she chaperoned the senior prom.
Judge Garrett Page compared the photos and videos to "dangling candy" in front of the teen.
"One bad day because of sexual hunger has resulted in all this avalanche of harm," Page said.
Ginnetti, the married mother of three young children, wept in court Friday as she read a letter of apology. She also faces three years on probation.
"I cannot change what has happened but I have learned that actions will always have consequences," she said. "No matter the circumstances, I was the adult and never thought about the impact on anyone."
Ginnetti said the relationship caused her to "lose a career that I loved with all my heart," but since then she has spent her time rebuilding her relationship with her husband, finding a new career and volunteering in her church and community.
Defense attorney Marc Neff sought house arrest rather than jail time so that Ginnetti could be a mother to her three young children. Assistant District Attorney Sophia Polites, however, urged the judge to give her some time behind bars, saying she had "violated her position of trust."
