In statements read during the sentencing hearing for their former teacher Monday, two female sexual abuse victims wrote of how Andrea Michelle Cardosa betrayed their trust, leaving them with nightmares and a reluctance to trust other adults with their own young children.

Cardosa, 41, pleaded guilty last month to three of 16 charges against her related to having sex with two of her former students about 15 years ago. In a plea agreement, she was sentenced by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez to 10 years in state prison.

The crimes came to light in January 2014, when a victim posted a video to YouTube of herself calling Cardosa on the phone and accusing Cardosa of molesting her while she was a student at Chemawa Middle School in Riverside. Cardosa indirectly admitted to the accusations by saying, “I regret it every day.”

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The victim – identified as Jamie C. in a civil court lawsuit – emailed a link to the video to the principal where Cardosa was working at the time, Alhambra High School, hoping her abuser would be fired. But administrators notified police, the video went viral and Riverside police reopened an investigation they had begun 1998. Back then, Jamie had denied she was sexually abused.

After the YouTube video went viral, the second victim, who was 18 at the time and has been identified only as B.G., came forward. Cardosa was arrested in February 2014.

She was originally charged with 16 counts related to sexual relationships with the two girls – one from 1997 to 2001 that started when she was teaching at Chemawa, and the other from 2009 to 2010 while she worked at Tomas Rivera Middle School in Perris.

Jamie read her victim impact statement in court Monday afternoon.

“I will stand up for my 12-year-old self who did not have anyone to fight for her,” Jamie said. “It is never OK for an adult to betray the trust of a child.”

B.G.’s statement was read by a woman who didn’t give her name but said she had a “professional relationship” with the victim. B.G. wrote she had sleepless nights and nightmares, and wondered, “How will I ever trust anyone around my son?”

Jamie and her civil lawsuit attorney, David M. Ring of Los Angeles, spoke outside of court afterward. Jamie said since going public, she has received countless emails from other victims and she wanted to empower them.

“It’s OK to come forward,” she said. “It’s not your fault.”

Cardosa’s defense attorneys last year argued that the molestation allegations exceeded the six-year statute of limitations, but the judge ruled that laws and the specific circumstances of the case meant the statute of limitations had not run out.

Cardosa’s attorney, Daniel L. Greenberg, said outside court that his client pleaded guilty rather than risk spending “the rest of her life in jail” if convicted of more charges, especially given the pretrial publicity in the case.

It will be up to state corrections officials whether to go along with Cardosa’s request to serve her sentence at California Institution for Women near Corona. Greenberg said her mother is age 83, has arthritis and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, so the location would be “easier for visits.”

Contact the writer: 951-368-9075 or gwesson@pe.com