By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
A former agriculture teacher and mother to a young son pleaded no contest on Monday to charges that she had a yearlong affair with a 15-year-old student she was supposed to be mentoring. The judge in California sentenced Melody Carter-McCabe to just five months in jail, followed by five months of probation. She will not be required to register as a sex offender after her sentence. Ms Carter-McCabe began the alleged affair with the teen in fall 2010 when he was 15 and he offered to help out at the now 28-year-old's home with chores.
She and her husband, father of her six-year-old son, have recently divorced but were married at the time. The teen told police last summer that he kissed the teacher and two weeks later they began having sex. In an interview with authorities the teen said they had sex at least 50 times during the affair that lasted from September 2010 to August 2011. During questioning, the student told detectives that Carter-McCabe had a purple sex toy that she allowed him to use on her. Detectives found the sex toy wrapped in a white sock in a nightstand at the teacher's home in Merced, California.
The student also showed photographs of a woman in her underwear on his cell phone and identified her as Carter-McCabe. He described specific details about her body, including that she has a tattoo of a Japanese water symbol on her ankle. Police with Merced County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation in March after rumours began circulating at Livingston High School where Carter-McCabe worked as a agriculture teacher. School authorities also alerted the boy's unsuspecting parents.
The pair became close after Carter-McCabe began mentoring the student through Future Farmers of America (FFA). The student told investigators that he was a regular visitor at the teacher's home. He began by helping out with chores, including yard work, and during one session said he leaned over and kissed his teacher. According to the arrest report Carter-McCabe told the teen 'this would only be the time' but two weeks later the teen said they began 'making out'.
The sexual relationship began in November 2010 according to the teen when Melody-McCabe asked him if he had ever had sex. When he replied no they started to have sex. The affair ended when the pair agreed their age difference 'made it impossible to be together' although the teacher spoke about continuing the relationship when he was older. Chief Deputy District Attorney Rob Carroll told the Merced Sun Star newspaper the evidence against Carter-McCabe includes photographs and various correspondence between the teacher and victim.
'It's extremely troubling because parents send their children to school, and they trust their child with educators,' Carroll said. 'I think 99.9 per cent of educators do a fantastic and sometimes thankless job. It's unfortunate there are people ... like the defendant who give educators a bad name.' Jeffrey Tenenbaum, Carter-McCabe's attorney, said he's still reviewing reports in the case, and couldn't comment about the specific allegations. 'Obviously she's having a very difficult time. This is her first time ever going to jail,' he said.
Carter-McCabe was originally booked into jail last summer and charged with nine felony counts of unlawful sex with a minor and had faced up to 12 years in jail. She will get credit for the week already served from when she was booked after she reports to jail May 28.
