Brandyn Martin Hargrove was convicted on Wednesday of 12 criminal counts connected to her sexual assault of the ex-student while she was a teacher at Brazoswood High School in Clute, Texas.

The formerly-decorated educator was sentenced to 10 years of probation and a 10-year probated sentence, meaning she won’t face any time in prison, despite grooming her student and having a sexual relationship with the minor, which continued until the girl turned 17, according to court records.

In September 2023, Hargrove’s victim, who is now in her 30s, walked into the police station to report she had been sexually assaulted by her teacher nearly two decades earlier, Clute Chief of Police James Fitch told ABC 13.

“From the get-go, we really felt there was a good chance this would go to trial, so we were a little surprised with the plea agreement. There was a lot of legwork by the detectives tracking down some of those people that went to school 17 years ago with our victim and people she made initial outcries to,” Fitch said.

“In 2006, you did not have the charge of improper relationship with a student that we have today, so that’s why you got the charges of sex assault and indecency of a child,” he added.

“The DA’s office did include the victim. They talked to the victim before this plea agreement was accepted, and from what I understand, the victim spoke in court [Wednesday] morning,” he said.

Hargrove’s victim faced down her abuser in court, reading a powerful victim impact statement directly to her.

“Brandyn, I face you today as the adult who now protects the child you once exploited and betrayed. You didn’t just break boundaries. You broke a person. Today I go from victim to survivor, victim to victor,” she told Hargrove, as reported by Brazoria County news outlet The Facts.

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Hargrove’s family, including her husband, parents and sister, looked on silently as she was convicted of sexual assault and indecency of a child — 10 second-degree felonies with maximum punishments of two to 20 years in prison and two third-degree felonies with punishments of two to 10 years.

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She will remain on the sex offenders registry for the rest of her life, police confirmed, as officials urged people to come forward even if the historic abuse took place years earlier.

“If it comes to that point years later and you want to come forward, don’t hesitate because it’s been so long. This is a perfect case where our victim had those hesitations 17 years ago, but now in law enforcement, we’re going to take it just as it happened yesterday and seek that justice for our victims,” Chief Fitch said.

Hargrove was fired by the school district in early 2024 following the charges against her.

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