VIDOR, Texas — A former Vidor Independent School District choir teacher has been sentenced to 34 years in prison after being found guilty of sexual assault of a child.
An Orange County jury found Robin Corley guilty Thursday morning of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
After Corley was found guilty and before the punishment phase began prosecutors allowed her to enter a plea deal for sentencing according Orange County assistant district attorney Bard Anderson.
“We had a meeting with the victim, discussed our options and we determined it was in our best interest of not only justice, but also our victim, to enter into a plea agreement with the defense," Anderson said.
She was allowed to enter a plea agreement and gave up her right to appeal in exchange for a 34 year sentence Anderson told 12News.
"We do that for two reasons, it gives certainty to the victim, that she has a number that she can hang her hat on," he said. "And it forces the defendant to waive her right to appeal. It gives a sense of finality.”
The jury began deliberating Wednesday afternoon and came to their decision not long after starting again Thursday morning. Corley was indicted in June 2022.
"This case is difficult for us because it involves not only a person taking advantage of a young child and sexually abusing that child, but also an educator taking advantage of a student," Anderson said.
On Tuesday August 8, 2023, Corley's victim took the stand and testified about living with Corley for 10 months when she was her student.
The victim testified that she didn’t know about “not touching younger children" until she was married and at the time of the incidents she didn't know it was wrong.
She told jurors that after becoming a teacher she worked with Corley at Vidor Jr. High School and noticed the choir room had locks on the doors and curtains over the windows.
Gertz asked the alleged victim what grade she was in when the abused allegedly began. She claims that she was in the 7th grade when it first happened.
The victim said that she didn't tell her mom, friends, principal, or counselor. She claims that only one encounter was seen by someone else.
She said that she spent a lot of time at Corley's house because she was friends with Corley's daughter.
The victim went on to say that she hid what happened so Corley wouldn’t get in trouble. She said she didn’t have a grasp on what was really going on.
She stated that Corley said if anyone ever found out that she would get in a lot of trouble, so she promised not to tell anyone.
Anderson questioned the victim next.
Anderson asked if Corley was the only sexual experience of the victim until young adulthood and she said yes. She testified that the relationship between herself and Corley was emotional and extremely physical.
The victim said that she made the outcry to a counselor but stated it as a hypothetical and asked if it would be something the counselor would have to report.
Text messages between the victim and Corley were read to the courtroom by a Texas Ranger.
The messages state that the victim could no longer keep the incidents a secret because other children could be at risk. Corley apologizes and says that she can't change the past and is going to be a better person moving forward.
When the victim tells Corley that she is seeking help to fix the issues that Corley gave her, Corley allegedly pleaded her not to because she wants to be there for her parents and children.
The text exchange ends with the victim stating that she can't be quiet anymore.
Gertz then called Corley's children to the stand and they testified that they never witnessed anything inappropriate between their mother and the victim.
But the daughter stated that her mother would ask inappropriate questions about the victim, but she didn't think anything of it.
Lastly, Gertz called a retired VISD teacher, who claimed to be a close friend of Corley's, to the stand. She testified that she never would have suspected a relationship between Corley and the victim.
The retired teacher stated that she couldn't confirm or deny the possibility of the victim spending time with Corley in her classroom with the door closed before or after school.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.