Mackenzie Land Matthews sentenced to two years jail for having sex with Heath High School student

• Mackenzie Land Matthews admitted in November to having sex with one of her students at Heath High School in Ohio in 2010
• The relationship had stayed secret until the victim told someone last year and that person contacted child services
• The sexual contact was consensual and he was 18 at the time, but it is illegal for a teacher to have sex with a student in Ohio
• In court, she apologized to her husband, family and the victim
• His parents said for the sake of her kids they didn't want her to be locked up - but the judge chided her for using her job to facilitate the relationship

By Lydia Warren For Dailymail.com

Published: 10:30 EST, 7 January 2015 | Updated: 11:13 EST, 7 January 2015

A former guidance counselor has been sentenced to two years behind bars for having sex with a male student - even though his parents asked a judge not to send her to prison.

Mackenzie Land Matthews, a 34-year-old married mother who resigned from her job at Heath High School two months ago, wept at the sentencing hearing in Licking County, Ohio on Tuesday.

She had pleaded guilty to having sex with an 18-year-old student she met at the school. Even though the contact was consensual, it is a crime for a teacher to have sex with a student in Ohio.

'If she'd just waited four months (for the student to graduate), it wouldn't have been a crime,' Prosecutor Ken Oswalt said, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

Locked up: Mackenzie Matthews, 34, has been sentenced to two years in prison for having sex with an 18-year-old student in 2010. During the hearing, she apologized to her husband, children and the victim

Matthews, who was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life, apologized for her actions at the sentencing hearing.

'I just want to sincerely apologize to the victim and his family, and to the Heath community and my school system,' she said tearfully.

'I want to apologize to my friends and my family and my children, and especially my husband. I want to express the remorse I have for this, and I accept the responsibility for my actions.'

The male student was not in court. None of his relatives were present, in a bid to protect his identity.

Oswalt told Licking County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Marcelain that the victim's parents did not want Matthews to receive prison time for the sake of her children.

The victim had said he wished the outcome to be left to the courts, the Newark Advocate reported.

Although the judge said it was unlikely Matthews would repeat the offense, he chided her for using her job to facilitate the relationship, even though she was 'obliged to prevent such conduct'.

Matthews had pleaded guilty to one count of sexual battery for having sex with the then-high school senior while they were off school campus between February and March 2010.

Scene: She met the student while working at Heath High School in Ohio as a guidance counselor. The relationship came to light when he told someone last year, and that person went to authorities

They kept the relationship quiet until the man told someone about it this year, and that person contacted the Licking County Children Services, who in turn alerted police.

When questioned by police, neither Matthews nor the victim denied the accusations.

Matthews, who was hired by the school district in 2005, was charged in November and handed in her resignation shortly afterwards.

After her resignation, school district officials expressed their relief.

'It's good to have resolution on the district's end, but this has been very, very difficult,' Superintendent Trevor Thomas told the Newark Advocate. 'We're a small town, so it's really just devastating, because everyone knows everything.'

Matthews had been the district's only guidance counselor and had had no disciplinary action.

In her latest review, Matthews wrote about how much she enjoyed her job.

'This is my 9th year working at HHS,' she wrote. 'I feel very lucky to be part of such a wonderful school district. I truly enjoy what I do, and that is something you can't put a price on.'