A California woman who was once the teacher of the year has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for sexually abusing her students.
Jacqueline Ma, who taught at Lincoln Acres Elementary in National City near San Diego, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child, one count of a lewd act on a child, and one count of possessing child sexual abuse material, the San Diego County District Attorney said. Ma was sentenced on those charges this week.
"This defendant violated the trust she had with her students in the most extreme and traumatic way possible and her actions are despicable," DA Stephan said. "Her victims will have to deal with a lifetime of negative effects and her 30-year sentence is appropriate. No child deserves what this defendant did and I hope this sentence brings a measure of justice to the victims, their families and the community that was left reeling from this defendant's crimes."
Ma's conduct was discovered after the mother of one of her victims found inappropriate messages between Ma and her son on the family tablet. Investigators said that Ma had been grooming the boy for about a year and began performing sexual acts on him when he was 12.
Although the boy was not allowed by his parents to be on social media, Ma gained access to him by setting up an unsanctioned after-school program. She told the boy to communicate with her through a school chat application.
"The sex acts perpetrated by Ma occurred in her classroom while the parents believed their son was participating in an afters chool basketball program, and the abuse continued for a period of three months," prosecutors stated.
Ma also targeted another student in 2020. That student was 11 when he was abused. Investigators found evidence that Ma was grooming young boys with gifts, food, and special attention and even completed their homework for them. She also gained the trust of the parents with her reputation and personal investment in their academic development.
Ma had been named county teacher of the year for the 2022-23 academic year by the San Diego County Office of Education, The Associated Press reported.
