A former San Diego County Teacher of the Year who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two of her sixth-grade students was sentenced Friday to 30 years behind bars.
Jacqueline Ma, 36, was handed the sentence as part of her plea deal after she pleaded guilty in February to two counts of forcible lewd acts with a child under age 14 and also admitting to a lewd act with a child under age 14. Both victims, one 11-year-old and another 12-year-old, were Ma's students at Lincoln Acres Elementary School.
Ma also pleaded guilty to a count of possessing material containing a minor engaged in or simulating sexual conduct. In addition to paying thousands of dollars in fines and registering as a sex offender, Ma will be required to serve all 30 years of her sentence before a parole board allows her out of custody.
Ma Groomed the Victims with 'Gifts, Food and Special Attention and Even Completed Their Homework'
The District Attorney's Office said she groomed boys with "gifts, food and special attention and even completed their homework for them."
Before handing down the sentence, Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Enrique Camarena said Ma had cultivated the sexual relationships in plain sight over an extended period, but she was protected from scrutiny due to her status as an award-winning teacher.
Ma Used Video Game Chatrooms, School App to Communicate with 12-Year-Old Victim, Sent Him Explicit Texts, Photos
Ma had taught fifth and sixth grades in the National School District since 2013. In August 2022, she was one of five teachers in the region selected as a San Diego County Teacher of the Year. She was arrested seven months later. In March 2023, the parent of a 12-year-old boy reached out to National City police to report a suspected inappropriate relationship with their son.
Prosecutors said Ma had been using video game chat rooms and a family tablet to communicate with the 12-year-old. Hart said the physical relationship between the two began in late 2022, a few months before the messages were found by the boy's parents.
The boy's parents reportedly did not allow him to have social media or his own electronics. But investigators learned Ma was able to get access to him by setting up an unsanctioned after-school program and talking with him through a school chat application.
Ma would send him explict photographs of herself and asking him to do the same. Prosecutors said that she would persistently tell him to "engage in sex acts" while he was at home.
Ma Sexually Assaulted the Student in Her Classroom After School Hours
Ma had a months-long sexual relationship with the 12-year-old victim. The sexual assaults occurred in Ma's classroom over three months while the boy's parents thought he was enrolled in an after-school basketball program, prosecutors said.
The investigation into Ma revealed a second suspected victim — a boy who was 11 years old when prosecutors say she sent him sexually charged messages in 2020, according to testimony at her preliminary hearing. The 11-year-old boy was reportedly approached by Ma in 2020, but he fled the room, Hart said.
