Douglas Walker

WINCHESTER – A Randolph County teacher who had sex with a 17-year-old special ed student was sentenced Thursday to three years on home detention.

Shannon J. Woodson, 39, now of Lynn, pleaded guilty to two counts of child seduction, a Class D felony carrying a standard 1½-year prison term.

Woodson was charged in August 2011 with having a sexual relationship with a boy who until recently had been her student in a special education class at the Greater Randolph Interlocal Cooperative.

Questioned by her defense attorney, B. Joseph Davis, Woodson acknowledged she and the teen began exchanging text messages soon after the 2010-11 school year ended.

“Things ramped up, and you actually had sexual intercourse?” Davis asked.

“Yes,” Woodson responded.

Randolph Superior Court Judge Peter Haviza accepted the terms of a plea agreement calling for Woodson to receive the three-year sentence, to be served on home detention.

The deal also called for Woodson to permanently surrender her teaching license.

Asked by the judge whether she wished to make a comment before he formally imposed the sentence, Woodson responded, “No thank you.”

The judge told Woodson as a convicted sex offender, she could not live within 1,000 feet of a school or within one mile of her victim. While on home detention, she is also forbidden from contacting any non-relative under the age of 16 through online social networks.

The victim in the case did not attend Thursday’s hearing.

In Indiana, the age of consent for sexual activity is 16 under most circumstances. Woodson’s prosecution was based on a state law that prohibits “child care workers,” including teachers, from sexual contact with students who are under the age of 18.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.