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Jennifer Kennard.

(Police photo)

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A former Western New York teacher's aide was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for having a sexual relationship with a middle school student for nearly three years.

Jennifer Kennard, 48, of Irondequoit was sentenced in Monroe County Court, where she was convicted in September of multiple counts of rape, as well as endangering the welfare of a child. The crimes began 2010 when the boy was 13 and ended in 2013.

Prosecutors say the woman was involved with a former student at East Irondequoit Middle School, where she worked. The sexual acts with the special-needs student occurred more than 10 times in the basement of her home.

In court, Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Amanda Balling read a letter by the boy, who called Kennard as "an evil person." He said the woman threatened him and told him that her husband would shoot him if he told about their relationship, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported.

"She stole my innocence from me," he wrote. "I felt imprisoned with no escape."

Upon her release from prison, Kennard will have to register as a sex offender.