Former high school teacher sentenced to life for molesting student

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A former Henry County teacher Wednesday pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a student.

A judge handed down a life sentence for 24-year-old Ryan Harvey, a former orchestra teacher at Woodland High School in Stockbridge.

Harvey will spend at least 18 years behind bars for molesting one of his students and sending sexual photos to two students.

Investigators said the students were 15 and 16 years old.

Harvey was arrested in February 2018 on at least half a dozen charges, including sexual battery against a child under 16, aggravated child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes.

School officials said someone in the community came to them with information. Harvey was immediately taken out of the classroom and placed on administrative leave and eventually resigned from his position.

Harvey graduated from Woodland High School in 2012.

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