The former Camino Real Middle School teacher and coach received six months of credit for time served and must register as a sex offender for 10 years following his guilty pleas to two felonies.

Organ Mountain News report

LAS CRUCES - Former Camino Real Middle School teacher and coach Wyatt Cornelius was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison after pleading guilty to felony charges involving sexually inappropriate electronic communications with a student.

District Judge Richard M. Jacquez imposed the sentence in Third Judicial District Court. Cornelius, 43, will receive approximately six months of credit for time served since his April 22 arrest, leaving 18 months on his prison sentence, according to Third Judicial District Attorney Fernando Macias.

Upon release, Cornelius will serve one year of parole and one year of probation. He also must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

The sentence follows Cornelius' Oct. 19 guilty pleas to child solicitation by electronic communication device and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Family addresses court before sentencing

According to prosecutors, Cornelius used a school communication app to engage in sexually inappropriate conversations with a student before moving the exchanges to Snapchat.

During those communications, he made sexually explicit comments and encouraged the student to sneak out and meet him at his home, the District Attorney's Office said.

Members of the student's family addressed the court before Jacquez imposed the sentence.

"This has been the most difficult thing we have ever experienced as parents. There is a particular helplessness in watching your child suffer because of decisions made by an adult," the student's parents said.

"We can make sure she has counseling, advocate for her, listen to her, and remind her that none of this was her fault. But we cannot undo the harm that happened."

Cornelius asks judge for probation

According to reporting by KFOX14, Cornelius asked Jacquez to sentence him to probation rather than prison, telling the court he accepted responsibility for his communications with the student.

“I understand that my communication with the minor was inappropriate,” Cornelius said. “It crossed the line that no teacher should cross.”

Cornelius apologized to the student’s family, Las Cruces Public Schools and his own family. He said he had spent more than six months in custody reflecting on his conduct and participating in counseling and Bible study.

He also outlined plans to continue counseling, participate in Celebrate Recovery and complete any treatment required by the court.

Macias characterized Cornelius' conduct as a prolonged betrayal of the trust placed in him as an educator.

"Cornelius was a 43-year-old educator who groomed a 13-year-old girl. This was not an isolated incident. It was a calculated process," Macias said. "The defendant engaged in a monthslong betrayal that likely would have continued had he not been caught."

Jacquez ultimately imposed the two-year prison sentence.

Sentence follows negotiated plea agreement

Cornelius was arrested April 22 following a Las Cruces police investigation into allegations of inappropriate contact and communications involving a student at Camino Real Middle School.

The investigation initially resulted in charges of criminal sexual contact of a minor, child solicitation by electronic communication device and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Additional charges involving a second minor were subsequently filed.

Under the October plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed the criminal sexual contact charge and two additional charges arising from the second case in exchange for guilty pleas to the two remaining felonies.

At the time, prosecutors said the negotiated resolution followed consultation with the student and her family and would require sex offender registration.

Thursday's sentencing establishes the prison term Cornelius will serve under that agreement, subject to credit for time already spent in custody.

Macias and Chief Deputy District Attorney Spencer Willson prosecuted the case following an investigation by the Las Cruces Police Department.