Oroville >> A former Las Plumas High School teacher convicted of having sex with two male students will not be required to register as a sex offender, a judge decided Wednesday.

Butte County Superior Court Judge James Reilley said he would not order Lindsay Himmelspach to register as a sex offender, as long as she successfully completes her probation term.

Himmelspach, 33, of Chico was granted three years probation in a case where she pleaded guilty to two felony counts of unlawful sex with a minor.

Both boys were 17 at the time of the offenses, and both had been students at Las Plumas High School, prosecutors have said.

The former teacher is scheduled on Friday to begin serving 120 days in jail as a condition of her probation term.

Judge Reilley said he would order Himmelspach to register for life as a sex offender if she violates the terms of her probation and is sentenced to prison.

“Hopefully the very real possibility of sex offender registration, as well as state prison as opposed to county, will be sufficient motivation to ensure the defendant complies with the terms of her probation,” he said.

Before the judge announced his decision, Jennifer Bennett with the District Attorney’s Office argued that Himmelspach should be required to register, citing the number of victims in the case, Himmelspach’s possible future interaction with minors and the defendant’s use of her position to take advantage of her victims.

Grady Davis, Himmelspach’s attorney, argued that registration would not be appropriate, arguing that his client is not likely to commit another offense and did not have a prior criminal history. He added that probation officials also did not recommend that Himmelspach be required to register.

Himmelspach pleaded guilty as charged in April.

Prosecutors alleged the former teacher had sex with one student in about June 2015 and sex with the second teenager about a month later. It was also alleged that the defendant exchanged sexually explicit photographs with the two boys.

Himmelspach remained out of custody ahead of the start of her jail term.

Contact reporter Andre Byik at 896-7760.