A former teacher who engaged in sexual relationships with three of her students, even aborting a baby from one, has now been jailed for 22 years.

Jennifer Fichter, 30, who taught English at a school in Lakeland, Florida, admitted to 37 counts of unlawful sexual contact with a minor in April in relation to three of her 17-year-old male students across two counties.

Fichter was even pregnant after one encounter, which she terminated. At the time, Fichter rejected a plea deal by the State Attorney’s Office, seemingly in a bid to achieve a more lenient sentence.

“You’re going to have a long time to think about what you did. I trust that your faith is real, and you’ll have a long time to let your faith work in your life so that when you come out you’re a different person,” the judge told Fichter. “It bothered me that there was references to that faith and yet there was this activity.”

Each count Fichter faced could have carried a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

In court she gave an emotional speech at Polk County Court, telling her victims and their families, who were in attendance, that she wished she could “go back and remove what I’ve done.”

“I hate so much what my selfishness has done… I can’t, I won’t even begin to think my words were enough,” Fichter said with tears streaming down her face.

During the sentencing hearing, a recorded phone conversation with the mother of one of the victim’s and Fichter was played in court. Fichter admitted she slept with one of the teens about 20 to 30 times. She also admitted she had gotten pregnant and then had an abortion.

Mother: “He just said that you came and told him that you were pregnant and that you had an abortion”.

Fichter: “Yes. He knew and he helped make the decision”.