Man gets prison for abusing student decades ago

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A man who admitted to sexually abusing a teenage student decades ago will spend years in a state prison.

Shackled hand and foot as he stood in a Grand Rapids courtroom Wednesday, James Christians was sentenced to between three years, two months and 15 years behind bars. When he gets out of prison, he will have to register as a sex offender.

“I was wrong. I know that I truly hurt (the victim) and I am ashamed of my conduct. And I am sorry,” Christians said when given the chance to speak, reading from a prepared statement. “When she was a student in my class, I did violate her trust, her vulnerability and I did violate society’s trust in me as a teacher.”

Christians also apologized for comments he made in jail calls and messages to his wife, which were recorded. The entirety of those comments were not read verbatim in court, but the prosecutor handling the case said they consisted of “victim-shaming” and that Christians and his wife were dismissive and insulting.

“They weren’t being very nice to the victim,” Judge Paul Denenfeld agreed, also saying the remarks were ‘nasty’ and ‘acerbic.’

However, Denenfeld did not indicate that the comments significantly affected his sentencing decision.

“It didn’t help Mr. Christians in my view. It’s also not dispositive of anything,” Denenfeld said.

Christians said facing his own words when his attorney brought them to his attention the day before sentencing was eye-opening.

“I will not for one moment try to justify or excuse those statements,” Christians said. “Those words should not have been said. They’re not the truth, and I need to be fully honest with my wife and with the court, (the victim) and myself.”

Earlier this year, the victim in the case, now an adult with a daughter of her own, came forward to report that Christians abused her starting in 1998 when she was 13. She was a student at Northview Public Schools north of Grand Rapids at the time and Christians was a teacher. When interviewed by authorities, Christians admitted to having sexual contact with the victim during the 1998-1999 school year and again a few years later. The woman said the abuse continued through 2003 and included instances on school property.

Northview said Christians last worked for the district in 2000, after which he was hired at Lowell Area Schools, where he was still working as an English teacher when he was arrested in February. He was placed on leave when the allegations surfaced and formally resigned March 9, the district told News 8.

Christians was initially charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. On May 8, he pleaded guilty to a count of third-degree CSC with a victim between the age of 13 and 15.

The victim was present for sentencing Wednesday, but did not address the court and instead made her victim impact statement in a letter to the judge.

*Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the date of Christians’ resignation from Lowell Area Schools. We regret the error, which has been fixed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.