Melanie Eversley

USA TODAY

A Massachusetts teen was sentenced Friday to at least 40 years in prison for the 2013 rape and killing of his high school teacher whose body was found discarded in a recycling bin in the woods.

The sentence imposed on Philip Chism, 17, in Essex County, Mass., Superior Court in Salem came shortly after the victim's mother denounced the teen as someone who is "pure evil" and deserves a harsh sentence, the Boston Globe and other news outlets reported.

Judge David Lowy condemned Chism for the attack on Colleen Ritzer that took place in a second-floor girls' bathroom at Danvers High School on Oct. 22, 2013.

"Colleen Ritzer lived a life of quiet heroism," the Globe quoted Lowy as saying of the 24-year-old teacher. "The crashing waves of this tragedy will never end."

The judge noted the teen was abused by his father, who was in and out of his life, but added prosecutors presented enough evidence to show Chism was legally sane when he attacked Ritzer after classes, the Globe reported.

In pleading for a harsh sentence, the victim's mother, Peggie Ritzer, said in court: "He is pure evil and evil can never be rehabilitated," the Boston Herald reported. "Colleen will never get a second chance and neither should he."