Former teacher sentenced to 40 years

Former teacher sentenced to 40 years

June 15, 2010

She pleaded guilty to repeated sex crimes that started when boy was 13

A former Silverton (Oregon) elementary school teacher was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday for repeatedly raping and sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy.


Sentenced: Susan C. Alderson, 47, of South Salem was sentenced to 40 years in prison with no chance of early release Monday.

Susan C. Alderson, 47, of South Salem was a teacher at Robert Frost Elementary School at the time of her arrest nearly one year ago.

The boy, who was not a student and was 13 when the abuse started, is now in his 20s.

"I really hope this will help him to move on and be healthy and be happy," Alderson said during the sentencing. "I can't express how remorseful I am."

The victim did not attend the sentencing hearing. The Statesman Journal does not name victims of sex crimes.

"He was at the change-of-plea (hearing), and he left the courtroom in tears," Deputy District Attorney Jodie Bureta said. "He has lost everything in his life because of what happened."

Bureta described Alderson as a woman who manipulated her friends and family to believe she was innocent of the crimes. Alderson knew the victim and since her conviction has had contact with people known to both of them.

"She has manipulated (the victim's) entire community ... all trying to get a favorable outcome for herself," Bureta said. Alderson allegedly would tell people "that she is going to prison based on (the victim's) lies," the prosecutor said.

Alderson pleaded guilty to all the charges against her in February. They are two counts each of rape, sodomy, second-degree sexual abuse and third-degree sexual abuse. Third-degree sexual abuse is a misdemeanor charge; the others are felonies.

Rape and sodomy are Measure 11 crimes that carry mandatory minimum sentences of 8 years 4 months in prison.

But Marion County Circuit Judge Joseph Ochoa said factors including the vulnerability of the victim, persistent involvement in the crimes, violation of the public's trust and Alderson's lack of remorse substantiated the extended sentence.

"Ms. Alderson says she is sorry today," Ochoa said. "But what I see is a pattern of behavior that belies her support."

Letters saying the victim made up the allegations against Alderson and claiming Alderson pleaded guilty out of concern for the victim were submitted to the court.

Ochoa said those were further evidence of Alderson's manipulation.

The evidence shows me she's concerned about one person, and that's herself," he said.

Ochoa described the case as serious and grave.

"Those words lack the depth of the behavior Ms. Alderson took part in," Ochoa said. "This is the kind of case judges lose sleep over."

The abuse took place over a period of four years, beginning in 2000, and included sexual intercourse and oral sex. At least once the conduct occurred at Robert Frost school, according to court documents.

Alderson alternated teaching fifth and sixth grades since 2000, her attorney Mark Obert said. She'd worked in education since 1994, he said.

Obert asked that Ochoa decrease the sentence to allow Alderson the chance to attend sex offender treatment and "deal with thinking errors that got her in this situation."

"She hopes with this plea and sentence it will close that chapter in (the victim's) life," Obert said.

Alderson hung her head while Ochoa read the sentence. She is not eligible for early release and could be nearly 90 years old at the time of her scheduled release.

Alderson will then be required to register as a sex offender.

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