Ex-Norris High School teacher gets probation for sexual relationship with student

Mar. 29—A 24-year-old former Norris High School teacher was sentenced Friday to five years of probation for an inappropriate relationship she had with a student.

Lillie Bowman also got 90 days in county jail, 30 days starting next Friday and the rest in two 30-day periods during probation unless the judge waives it on the recommendation of her probation officer.

Bowman — who pleaded no contest to third-degree sexual abuse by a school employee as part of a plea agreement — made no statement herself before Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen sentenced her.

But her attorney, Michael Wilson, said Bowman had been cooperative with investigators from the start.

"She did not lie. She did not do anything to obfuscate. She was honest," he said. "That says a lot about Miss Bowman and her character. She took responsibility when she was confronted with this."

Wilson said Bowman was barely more than a young person herself, after four years in college returning to Norris as a teacher. And the student involved was 17 going on 18.

"In any other context, your honor, there's nothing illegal about it," he said.

Wilson said Bowman already was serving a sentence in the court of public opinion, her image "splashed" on social media. But she has been strong, he said.

Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Morgan Smith said while Bowman has suffered some consequences, those are the natural consequences of her actions.

"At the end of the day, Miss Bowman sexually abused one of the children that she was charged with taking care of," Smith said.

He said teachers and coaches wield huge amounts of power and influence over young people, which is one of the reasons this law exists.

"What Miss Bowman has done in this case here is erode trust in schools and teachers," Smith said.

Now, he said, everyone at the Norris School District who sees a teacher interact with a student, will have at least a small thought in their mind that something else might be going on.

"Teachers are supposed to be literally the adult in the room, and she did not behave as such in this case," he said.

According to prosecutors, last May, the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office received a report about Bowman, then an English teacher and assistant trap shooting coach at Norris High School, having a sexual relationship with a student.

When investigators interviewed the teenage student, he admitted to being in a "dating relationship" with Bowman for two months. Bowman admitted it had been a sexual relationship when they interviewed her.

Students at Norris had told an administrator in early April about rumors circulating about a relationship between the coach and a student athlete. But Bowman and the student initially both denied it to school officials.

A parent at the school ultimately reported it to sheriff's deputies, prompting the investigation.

At Bowman's sentencing Friday, Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen said it was, to say the least, a horrible lapse in judgment on her part.

He said there's no question in his mind that she knew these actions would have terrible consequences, whether criminal charges or losing her job. Commonsense dictates that teachers and coaches, anyone in a position of authority at a school, not have intimate relations with a student.

"That to me is obvious and should have been to you," Jacobsen said. "Obviously, decisions have consequences. So you find yourself here."

He said Bowman now is a convicted felon, has lost her teacher certificate and must registered as a sex offender for 25 years.

"You had a role of authority and with authority comes power and you abused both of those, as well as the trust that was given to you by your school," the judge said.

Jacobsen said he considered giving her the two-year maximum prison sentence, but opted for a more lengthy term of probation.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.

On Twitter @LJSpilger

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