Wendi Sorenson sat in the courtroom and wept as a Tulare County judge read the 29 counts of molestation that the woman faced.

After each count was read by Judge Kathyrn Montejano, the 37-year-old Utah woman quietly pleaded, "no contest".

She wiped tears from her eyes.

Prosecutors believe the abuse began in June 2015, while the boy was enrolled at High Top Boys Ranch in Koosharem, Utah.

The school for troubled youth was owned and operated by Sorenson and her husband. The school has since closed.

Sorenson's husband was the person who reported the abuse to child protective services in Utah. According to prosecutors, he told authorities he noticed the two were, "very close."

In October 2015, following accusations, the teenager was removed from the school.

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His grandmother, Yolanda Rodriguez, had been fighting for custody of her grandson for months. She was finally granted custody after the boy left the school.

"[Sorenson] wants people to believe she's a church-going lady, but she's a monster," Rodriguez said. "She groomed him from day one."

The abuse continued when the boy and his grandmother moved to California, prosecutors said.

A week before Thanksgiving 2015, Sorenson flew from Utah to California. Visalia Sgt. Daniel Ford was alerted by the sheriff's department in Utah. They warned the then detective that the woman had left the state, likely to visit the boy.

Detectives began an investigation and contacted the boy's family.

The teenager told police the sex acts took place at Visalia's Fairfield Inn and the Visalia Marriott between Nov. 19 and 28. According to prosecutor Chelsea Wayt, the boy said he and Sorenson had sex every night.

Sorenson was charged with molestation, oral copulation and arranging a sexual encounter with a minor.

Ford uncovered more than 12,000 sexually explicit text messages between Sorenson and the boy. The text messages were also used to place Sorenson at the hotels.

After Sorenson pleaded no contest, Wayt asked the judge to place the woman in jail while she waits to be sentenced. Montejano denied the request and the defendant was allowed to return to Utah.

Tulare County probation officers have recommended Sorenson serve more than 12 years in prison.

The family said they want justice to be served. However, Rodriguez said they were told that Sorenson may only serve three years.

"We were hoping that she'd at least get six years," Rodriguez said. "I thought we were going to get justice."

The District Attorney's Office has requested the court enforce the maximum sentence of 13 years and eight months in prison, said Stuart Anderson, spokesman for the DA.

The boy's father believes that Sorenson's sentence is based on her gender.

"This is bias to the fullest," he said. "It just tells people you can commit sexual molestation and get away with it."

The family will return to court for Sorenson's sentencing on Sept. 7 at 8:30 a.m. in Department 10.

Montejano said Sorenson will likely be placed into custody at that time.