Texas’s Tomball: After pleading guilty to the charges on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, a former Texas college professor who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old student for more than three years will now face a brief 60-day jail sentence and 10 years probation because she just gave birth. The prosecution, meanwhile, had hoped for a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.
Marka Bodine, 32, was found guilty of assaulting a boy when he was still a minor. While teaching English at Tomball Intermediate School in Texas, Bodine met the youngster. When Bodine first met the boy, she was already married. Court records say Bodine had sex with the child multiple times in his car and in his classroom during the abuse, which lasted three years. She even moved into his apartment complex after getting divorced.
Court records indicate that the inappropriate relationship was discovered in 2021 after Bodine reported the harassment of a former student to the principal of the middle school Tomball. Bodine alerted the director that the 13-year-old had access to her private photos as well as edited images of her and was threatening to harm herself.
Investigators said a search of Bodine’s phone and the boy’s phone revealed numerous messages and photographs the two had exchanged. Some of the photos were of a sexual nature. The youngster told detectives that Bodine befriended him while they were playing an online video game and then started texting him, according to the affidavit.
The child said that shortly after turning 13, the two began exchanging lewd photos and engaging in sexual activity. Another three years passed throughout their relationship. The boy allegedly told investigators that Bodine even moved into his compound after their divorce and that the two frequently had sex in his classroom and car.
Investigators say Bodine eventually admitted to having a sexual interaction with the former student and sending graphic images and videos.
The baby’s father, who is now 16, is not the boy. She must also register as a sex offender, the prosecution said.