By KRWG News
Carlsbad – A 33-year-old Carlsbad woman accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student has been sentenced to 17 months in state prison on a lesser charge.
Melinda Beth Bridges and the then 16-year-old boy fled New Mexico the day after police questioned them in May 2009 about the alleged affair. They were found in Louisiana five days later.
Bridges was a substitute teacher at Jefferson Montessori Academy and the boy was a student. The school principal reported the alleged affair to police.
Bridges was charged with one count of criminal sexual penetration of a minor, but pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor last month. The Carlsbad Current-Argus says she was sentenced on Wednesday in Carlsbad District Court.
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Information from: Carlsbad Current-Argus, http://www.currentargus.com/
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.