DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) -- Alley Bardfield, the substitute teacher convicted of sexually assaulting one of her students, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime.

Bardfield, who was formerly employed by Decatur Public Schools appeared in the courtroom of Judge Rodney Forbes on Thursday to learn her fate. She pleaded guilty last month to predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class X felony punishable by up to 60 years in prison. Negotiations between the prosecution and the defense resulted in prosecutors asking for a 40-year sentence, but the exact length was up to Judge Forbes to decide.

By pleading guilty, Bardfield admitted to sexually assaulting one of her sixth-grade students in her Mt. Zion home twice in March of 2024. A Mt. Zion detective testified on Thursday that

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