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Former Lakewood band director Nathan Harris was sentenced to six months in jail Thursday for having sex with a student in June. The jail term was part of five years of probation that Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Daniel Gaul ordered.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The former Lakewood High School band director was sentenced to six months in jail Thursday for having sex with a 16-year-old student in June.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Daniel Gaul originally ordered Nathan Harris to serve three years in prison, but he suspended the sentence and placed Harris on probation for five years. The first six months of that term must be spent in the county jail.

"This is a regrettable incident, and incarceration is absolutely necessary,'' Gaul told Harris. He faced a maximum of five years in prison.

Harris, 28, of Lakewood, pleaded guilty Oct. 16 to one count of sexual battery. Under Ohio law, teachers or counselors cannot have sexual relationships with youths under their supervision.

Harris told authorities in a statement that he picked up the 16-year-old student June 10 and spent the day with him having sex, showering together and seeing a movie.

After the movie, Harris said, he and the youth drove to the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metro Parks and parked near the Lorain Bridge about 10:20 p.m. There, he said, he and the youth had sex again. Metro Park rangers found them and arrested Harris. He later resigned from the Lakewood Schools.

Defense attorney Larry Zukerman said Harris realized how wrong his actions were. He said Harris is genuinely remorseful and has an overwhelming sense of guilt.

"The inappropriate conduct took place in one day,'' Zukerman said after the hearing. "It was an unfortunate incident that ruined a lot of people's lives.''

The boy's parents did not address Gaul and declined to speak with reporters afterward. His mother wrote a letter to the judge that court officials would not release, citing the woman's wishes. Jennifer Driscoll, an assistant county prosecutor, said the family was conflicted about punishing Harris with prison.

She said the family realized that Harris showed extremely poor judgment, but they weren't certain prison would be appropriate for Harris. But Driscoll said her office believed prison was necessary. She said Harris and the boy had texted and called each other over a period of months before they met in June.

"As a parent, you drop your child off at school and expect him to be safe, not to be engaged in a sexual relationship with a teacher,'' Driscoll said.

The former band director told Gaul that he is in counseling. He faced the boy's parents and apologized.

"(This) is a pain that I won't be able to overcome,'' he said. "I am so, so sorry.''

Harris said he took responsibility for what he did, and he stressed that he did not mean to hurt the boy.

"I was a teacher, and I violated a sacred trust,'' he said. "It's not something I can take back.''

Gaul said the crime affected the entire Lakewood community. He said he needed to send a message to teachers and others who deal with youths "that this won't be tolerated.''

"You will not teach again in the state of Ohio,'' Gaul said.

After a sheriff's deputy put handcuffs on Harris and led him to a holding cell, the student's mother burst into tears. A few feet away, Harris' family members cried as they watched him leave.