TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — A former high school teacher in Mississippi will spend 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual battery of a 16-year-old student.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports 37-year-old Braden Bishop pleaded guilty Friday. Under state law, there’s no chance of parole or time off for good behavior. He also received a 15-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to one count of fondling the same student. He’ll have to register as a sex offender.
Bishop taught at Tupelo High School.
He originally was indicted on five felonies, but three were dropped in the plea deal. Circuit Judge Paul Funderburk said the victim’s family agreed to the deal so the teenager would not have to testify in court.