Port Charlotte High School teacher gets 7 years in prison for sexual activity with student on campus

A Port Charlotte High School teacher pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of engaging in sexual activity with one of her students while on campus. Heather Mashburn-Smith, 37, was arrested in April after the victim told Charlotte County deputies that he had been in an inappropriate relationship with her for approximately four or five weeks. According to a Charlotte County Sheriff's Office affidavit, the student said he began talking to Mashburn-Smith in a Snapchat group chat and later sent a message saying she was pretty. Documents say Mashburn-Smith later sent a message to him asking what he meant when he called her pretty. Mashburn-Smith invited the 17-year-old boy to her classroom to discuss the messages, and the victim said that after multiple classroom visits, the two kissed. Mashburn-Smith told the victim that he could not tell anyone what was going on between them, and they both had sex on two occasions in the classroom, according to the affidavit. The victim told deputies that Mashburn-Smith told him she was not in a good marriage and wanted to leave her husband for him once he turned 18. According to the documents, the victim blocked Mashburn-Smith, but she continued to contact him on Snapchat. Mashburn-Smith received the following terms for her sentence: Seven years in state prison (Credit of 118 days served) Fifteen years of sex offender probation following her release Adjudicated as a sexual predator Ordered no contact with the victim or the victim's family She must permanently surrender her teaching certificate and is barred from reapplication of certificate DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment, and original programming on your TV.