An Elgin High School coach had sex with a teen and exchanged nude photos with him.

A former Elgin Local Schools coach and mother of four was sentenced Monday for having sex with a 17-year-old boy.

The defense argued the 17-year-old victim wasn't harmed by what happened, and that he actually initiated it.

And even though the victim's family seems to agree, the prosecutor says this crime had to be taken seriously.

Martina Stanley, 35, coached Cross Country at Elgin High School in Marion County.

She admits to having sex with a 17-year-old boy who was a student at the school.

But her attorney says one has nothing to do with the other.

"It's very important to understand here that the connection to her school - Elgin school - is completely coincidental," said defense attorney Todd Anderson.

He says Stanley knew the boy by virtue of being his neighbor and that she had no connection to him in her role as a coach.

Legally, he says, that's important to this case.

He argues it's the difference between a misdemeanor offense and the felony she was charged with.

"But for the fact that she worked at Elgin, this would have been a (misdemeanor). And I think the statute, if you read the statute, the sexual battery statute; it is designed to prevent somebody with authority or using coercion, force, or pressure by being in a position in authority to gain sexual contact. And that's not what was going on here."

In a sentencing memorandum, he pointed to statements by the teen, who bragged about the sex to friends: "Victim joked about the incident when interviewed...and stated he 'was fine' and 'she is every school boy's dream'"

"This is not to shift blame, but he was very aggressively pursuing Mrs. Stanley to escalate the relationship,” Anderson said.

But in court, Stanley claimed responsibility.

"I'd like to say with all of my heart and as humble as I possibly can, that I'm sorry,” she said. "I take this very seriously. This has been the hardest part of my life I've had to deal with because it rests on my shoulders, and I accept that."

Marion County Prosecutor Brent Yager says regardless of the victim's wishes, the offense deserved a felony charge. “Would this be different if this was a male coach and a female student? It seems like we might look more harshly on that, which we shouldn't,” he said. “We should pursue this like we would against anybody," he said.

Stanley was first charged with Sexual Battery, but pleaded guilty to a lesser felony of Attempted Gross Sexual Imposition.

The judge sentenced Stanley to 15 days in jail, one year's probation, and she will have to register as a sex offender.

He also ordered her not to have unsupervised contact with any underage boys.

An Elgin High School coach will serve 15 days in jail for having sex with a teenager.

Martina Stanley, 35, was a cross country and track coach at the school.

On Monday, a judge sentenced her to 15 days in jail, 1 year of probation, and told her she'd have to register as a sex offender.

Stanley pleaded guilty to Attempted Gross Sexual Imposition. She had sex with a 17-year-old student.

In court, Stanley apologized to the victim during her statement.

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