Ex-teacher, 33, plans to marry student, 17

Shades of Mary Kay Letournea, the former teacher who carried on a scandalous sexual relationship with her student. She was 34. He was 13. They eventually married (after Letournea got out of jail.)

There's a similar drama playing itself out in a Montgomery County courtroom in Norristown.

A former Phoenixville charter school teacher is accused of having an improper relationship with a 17-year-old female student. The Mercury's Carl Hessler Jr. has been covering the trial all week.

From Hessler's latest story:

"I'm an emotional person. My entire life I've always believed in true love. I believe I found that right person and I got swept along by that," Timothy Kevin Hammond testified Wednesday, explaining how he became involved in an intimate, romantic relationship with his former student while teaching at the Renaissance Academy.

Hammond, 33, of the 200 block of South Cedar Street, Spring City, said he knew that he could lose his job or be arrested for having such a relationship but "naively" believed that once people realized that he and the girl were in love that he would not be fired or arrested.

"Once I admitted my feelings, I didn't worry about the student/teacher relationship. I was overwhelmed by love," Hammond, who taught English at the school on Township Line Road, testified during his non-jury trial in Montgomery County Court. "I don't think true love is criminal."

If convicted of the charges, Hammond faces a possible maximum sentence of six to 12 years in prison.

Read the full story at The Mercury's Web site.

Also check out www.paschoolwatch.org to learn more about what you can do to protect students from predatory teachers.