A former Monroe County Middle School teacher entered a guilty plea Wednesday in Monroe County Circuit Court to one count of third-degree sodomy and to custodial interference.    Angela Comer, 27, of Gamaliel, who was scheduled to stand trial later this month, said she decided to enter a plea because it was in the best interest of everyone involved in the case.

“I just felt like it was the best thing for not only myself and my family, but also for the young man’s family,” she said. “A trial is very stressful for everyone and I just want this to be over and I felt this was the best decision I could make.”     Comer was accused of having a sexual relationship with her then 14-year-old student at Monroe County Middle School where he was a standout basketball player.

She and the boy left Tompkinsville on Jan. 6 along with Comer’s then 4-year-old son. They were captured in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. 
Comer waived extradition and was returned to Kentucky, where she was arrested.    She was indicted by a Monroe County grand jury in January 2006 on two counts of third-degree sodomy, four counts of unlawful transaction with a minor and one charge of custodial interference. She has been jailed since her arrest.

One charge of third-degree sodomy and four counts of first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor against Comer were dismissed Wednesday.   The Commonwealth has recommended a sentence of five years for each charge, which are to run consecutively for a total of 10 years.   Comer is scheduled to be sentenced June 20 in Monroe County Circuit Court.   Besides the recommended sentence of 10 years, Comer will have to enroll in a sex offender treatment program. Only two prisons for women in Kentucky offer that type of program — Otter Creek and Pee Wee Valley.

Before Comer had a chance to speak to her attorney regarding parole eligibility, she told a reporter that she expects to be incarcerated for three years before being eligible for parole. Her attorney, Johnny Bell, later said she would be eligible for parole in nine months.   Had Comer not entered a guilty plea, she would have been facing a sentence of 95 years.   Present in the courtroom Wednesday to hear Comer enter her guilty plea was the teenager’s grandmother, Betty York, who he was living with while the affair was taking place.

“I’m relieved it’s over,” York told media. “This has been going on for 16 months. It’s been very difficult for me. I’ve lost two sons. His father died in June. I felt like I’ve been dealt the hardest blow.”   York’s grandson, who is now 16, is in foster care and she said he wants to remain there.   “That’s where he wished to be,” York said. “He doesn’t want to come back here because he said they will judge him.”

York would love to have her grandson living with her again, but said she understands his decision not to come back.  “If that’s what he thinks is best for himself, then I’m willing to give what I want up for him,” she said.   York visits with her grandson periodically.  “We meet and have visits. We meet and go to eat,” she said.  York was pleased with the recommended sentence for Comer.

“She wanted less and I wouldn’t agree to anything less than 10. Mr. (Jesse) Stockton (commonwealth attorney for Monroe County) said he wouldn’t do anything I didn’t want done,” York said.    As Comer’s attorney approached Judge Eddie Lovelace’s bench with Stockton to discuss a date for final sentencing, Comer turned to the back of the courtroom and mouthed the words “I love you.”   In the audience were her mother, father, an aunt and some close friends.   Afterward, she was escorted into a room off the courtroom where she was allowed to answer questions from media.

Her family was not happy to learn of her intentions to enter a guilty plea Wednesday.    “They were upset, but also they understood and they knew I needed closure to this,” she said. “I explained to them that I didn’t want them to be stressed and I feel like they would have had much more stress had we gone through with that process.”

York would love to have her grandson living with her again, but said she understands his decision not to come back.   

“If that’s what he thinks is best for himself, then I’m willing to give what I want up for him,” she said.   York visits with her grandson periodically.  “We meet and have visits. We meet and go to eat,” she said.  York was pleased with the recommended sentence for Comer. “She wanted less and I wouldn’t agree to anything less than 10. Mr. (Jesse) Stockton (commonwealth attorney for Monroe County) said he wouldn’t do anything I didn’t want done,” York said.    As Comer’s attorney approached Judge Eddie Lovelace’s bench with Stockton  to discuss a date for final sentencing, Comer turned to the back of the courtroom and mouthed the words “I love you.”   In the audience were her mother, father, an aunt and some close friends.   Afterward, she was escorted into a room off the courtroom where she was allowed to answer questions from media.

Her family was not happy to learn of her intentions to enter a guilty plea Wednesday.    “They were upset, but also they understood and they knew I needed closure to this,” she said. “I explained to them that I didn’t want them to be stressed and I feel like they would have had much more stress had we gone through with that process.”    Comer has had no contact with her young son since she was arrested.    “My husband has not permitted any contact with my son. I can’t even call him. He has also not allowed my family to reach him by any means as well,” she said.

Comer plans to seek legal action to change that as soon as she is given the opportunity.   One reporter asked her if she misses being a teacher. Comer replied “no.”   “The only reason I became a teacher was because ... well, when I started my college education, my major was civil engineering and that was what I wanted to do,” she said. “Unfortunately, I met my now ex-husband and it became a problem with me being the only female with all the males in my class and he was very jealous of that and I was kind of forced to make the decision to get out of that degree.

“So, that’s when I picked up teaching because I had such a passion for math and that’s why I became a math teacher.”   Comer holds a bachelor’s degree in middle grades education for math and social studies.   “I only lacked about a year on my master’s degree in education and I was only a year and a half away from my degree in engineering, which I had planned on starting in January when all of this happened,” she said.   Being incarcerated has been hard for Comer, but she said not as hard as some might think.

“Jail is not a bad, bad place,” she said. “For the most part the girls didn’t really give me a hard time. I’m a very easy going and likable person. I make friends easily. Even with the charges and all the publicity, they just kind of made jokes about it. My nickname is ‘Hollywood.’”   Comer believes the time she has spent in jail thus far has made her a stronger person.   “I have learned tremendously while being incarcerated,” she said. “I have a whole new perspective on life and I will come from this a much stronger and wiser person than I have ever been.”

If she could say one thing to her young son, she said she would explain to him that she was going through a very hard time.   “And that Mommy had made some mistakes and he knew the things that were going on at home and my state of mind was not what it should be,” she said. “I would just ask that he forgive me for not being with him because I know he misses me very much and he needs me as much as I need him.”