Leslie A. Lively, 52, of Porters Falls, W.Va., and a former Wetzel County teacher, was sentenced Feb. 25 to a total of 2-10 years in prison after pleading guilty to sex-related crimes against two students in 2006.

Wetzel County Circuit Court Judge Richard Wilson handed down sentences of 1-5 years in prison for each of the two counts of sexual assault in the third degree that Lively pleaded guilty to.

Lively’s attorney, Robert McCoid, argued for leniency for Lively, stating that while what Lively did was wrong, it was a “one-off” because he had never committed such crimes before and had not done so since.

McCoid pointed out that Lively had many supporters in the court’s gallery. He also read a few statements of support from Lively’s friends and family that talked about his service to the community and about him being a good person. McCoid submitted a psychological evaluation of Lively that stated he was at “low risk of reoffending.” The crimes took place about 19 years ago.

In his statement to the court, Lively said he wanted to apologize to his victims, that he prays for them every day and he hopes they are doing well. Lively asked for leniency and talked about how he was missing out on not being able to attend sporting events and other family gatherings.

“I know I can do better. We all make mistakes in life,” Lively said.

He thanked people for supporting him and apologized to his family.

Wilson said he listened to Lively’s statement carefully and pointed out it was lacking in taking any responsibility for what he did to the students. The girls were younger than 16 years old, which is the age of consent in West Virginia. He said Lively betrayed the students’ trust and that he was an adult and should have acted like one.

“What happened was a violation and a breach of trust. … Somebody … on that porch needed to be an adult in that scenario. That was the failure here; the one who should have been the adult was not,” Wilson said. “This is a troubling case.”

Victim impact statements were submitted in writing to the court, but not read aloud.

Wilson noted Lively’s sentences would be served concurrently. Lively was ordered to pay a total of $2,000 in fines. Lively must register as a sex offender for life and when he is released from prison he will have 25 years of supervision as a sex offender.

Lively’s employment as a teacher was terminated last year because of the charges against him. His teaching license has also been permanently revoked.

Lively was originally charged in 2023 in an eight-count felony indictment including four counts of sexual assault in the third degree and four counts of sexual abuse by a person of trust to a child.

The case was investigated by Sgt. James Dean of the West Virginia State Police.