Denise Keesee cried throughout her sentencing Monday in Washington County Circuit Court. She sobbed. She bawled.



Her chin quivered hard. She dabbed a tissue at her cheeks.

Presiding Judge Kirsten Thompson sentenced the former Sherwood High School teacher to 30 days in custody for the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old student. Five years of probation will follow. If she violates its conditions, she could face more than a year in prison.



Keesee also must register as a sex offender, surrender her teaching license, complete sex offender treatment and have no contact with teens unless approved by her probation officer. She reports next week to the Washington County Community Corrections Center, a transitional facility near the county jail.

Keesee had been out of custody since the day after her arrest in June. She began weeping before the hearing began Monday. Her husband rested a hand on her knee. Attorneys surrounded her, trying to offer comfort.

When she addressed the court, she said had already completed hundreds of hours of therapy.

“I’m doing everything I can to rectify my wrong,” she said. “I am motivated to continue to change.”

She asked the judge to keep her out of custody. The possibility of incarceration was not the reason she wanted to change her life, she said. She sought help because she needed and wanted it.

“I want you to know I am learning the truth about myself, and this has been a painful process,” she said, crying. “I am doing this to be a better wife, sister, member of society and, most importantly, the best mom I can be to my 9-year-old son.”

The loss of her career, the embarrassment and shame she’s suffered because of this case were punishment enough, she said. And those consequences would continue without end.

“I am deeply sorry for any pain and suffering I have caused,” she said. “I will strive for the rest of my life to never cause anyone such harm.”

The sentence Thompson imposed was in line with what the state and defense had requested. Both sides had recommended five years of probation, plus certain conditions. They left jail time to the judge’s discretion.

Defense attorney James Jensen told the judge that, as a child, Keesee suffered physical and emotional abuse. The counseling was helping her understand how the abuse affected her.

“I would attribute this case to past challenges my client suffered in her life,” he said.

She is committed to saving her marriage, being a good mother and changing her behavior, Jensen said.

Keesee is devastated that she will never teach again, the attorney said.

“Teaching wasn’t just a career for my client, it was her identity,” Jensen said.

Authorities say Keesee had sexual contact with three students. Charges were filed for two of the students; her conviction involves one of them.

The criminal investigation started in October 2012 when Sherwood police received information from the state Department of Human Services about an inappropriate relationship between Keesee and an 18-year-old student.

The agency handed the case over to

investigators because Keesee's husband is a Sherwood police officer. Keesee admitted to kissing the 18-year-old student at the center of the DHS report. No charges were filed for that conduct.

Following the 2012 investigation, Keesee was charged with six counts of second-degree sexual abuse. Authorities alleged that Keesee had sexual contact multiple times with two boys who were students at the school between 2005 and 2009.

According to court records, Keesee told investigators that she had sex with one of boys at her home, the boy's home and at Ibach Park. He is the victim Keesee ultimately pleaded guilty to abusing. Authorities

for her relationship with him in 2008, but at the time, both she and he denied any inappropriate conduct.

The other victim named in Keesee's case told investigators that he, too, had been abused by her when he was in high school. Deputy District Attorney Paul Maloney told the court that Keesee made no statement to authorities regarding that student. The charges involving him were dismissed in Keesee's plea deal.

In February, Keesee signed a plea agreement, admitting to two counts of second-degree sexual abuse.



The student she admitted to abusing did not attend the sentencing Monday.

The other student, whom she denies abusing, did attend. He has filed a lawsuit against her and the Sherwood School District.



The lawsuit came days after her June 17 arrest. Later that month, Sherwood police placed Keesee's husband, Officer Adam Keesee, on leave. Oregon State Police investigated the Sherwood cop on accusations of intimidation, harassment and official misconduct involving the teen who filed the lawsuit.

The Clackamas County District Attorney's Office reviewed the state police investigation and found there was "bad blood" between Adam Keesee and his wife's young accuser. But prosecutors concluded that Adam Keesee had broken no laws.

After Monday’s the hearing, Denise Keesee left the courtroom dry-eyed.

-- Emily E. Smith