By Carl Hessler Jr. Trial Lawyers
NORRISTOWN — A former Phoenixville charter school teacher has been sent to prison for having an improper intimate relationship with a 17-year-old girl who was once his student.
While continuing to profess his love for the girl, Timothy Hammond, 34, of the 200 block of South Cedar Street, Spring City, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 47 days to 23 months in the county prison.
Judge Thomas P. Rogers also ordered Hammond to complete four years of probation.
Rogers said Hammond is not eligible for the work-release program during his incarceration.
During a two-day, non-jury trial in June, Rogers convicted Hammond of two misdemeanor counts of corruption of a minor but acquitted Hammond of a more serious felony charge of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with incidents that occurred with the girl between September 2007 and August 2008 while he was a teacher at the Renaissance Academy.
With the verdict, the judge determined that Hammond tended to corrupt the morals of the girl when he had an intimate relationship with her but that his conduct did not place the girl in danger.
Assistant District Attorney James Zoll argued that Hammond’s conduct warranted a prison sentence. Defense lawyer Joseph J. Hylan argued for a probationary sentence.
The girl was not in the courtroom for the sentencing hearing, but her parents were present. The conviction means Hammond will never be permitted to be a teacher again.
During the trial, Hammond, saying he was “overwhelmed by love,” testified he still loves the girl and plans to marry her. Hammond claimed he realized that he could lose his job or be arrested for having an intimate, romantic relationship with his former student but “naively” believed that once people realized that he and the girl were in love that he would not be fired or arrested.
During her testimony, the girl, sometimes tearful, frankly admitted she loved her former teacher and still held out hope that they could marry.
Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman argued the onetime literature teacher and his student were not in the world of “Romeo and Juliet.” Cauffman argued the girl wasn’t allowed to develop as a normal teenager with her peers and that the girl and Hammond were not on the same emotional or intellectual level.
An investigation of Hammond began on Aug. 30, 2008, when East Norriton police discovered Hammond and the girl in the back seat of Hammond’s Nissan Maxima on a secluded parking lot at 3:15 a.m.
The Renaissance Academy is a public charter school that opened in 2001. The school serves about 880 students in grades K-12.
School officials said Hammond began with the school in 2005 and was terminated after the allegations came to light.
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