NEW YORK – A New York City teacher recently pleaded guilty to raping a 10-year-old student and received a reduced sentenced as a result.

The New York Daily News reports that Anthony Criscuolo will be sentenced to 14 years in prison as part of a deal reached with prosecutors. Upon release, he is required to register as a sex offender, and will undergo 18 years of post-release supervision. Had the case gone to trial, Criscuolo could have faced a 25-year sentence.

The Bronx District Attorney’s office released a statement that explained why it decided to forego a trial: “In order to not further traumatize this young victim, it was determined that this plea agreement was in her best interest.”

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Criscuolo, 41, confessed June 13 in a Bronx courtroom in front of Supreme Court Justice Judith Lieb.

The married teacher forged a letter to his victim’s parents on school letterhead in April, according to the news report. The letter claimed the student had won an award for an essay she had authored, which he used as pretense to pick the girl up in his Dodge Charger to transport her to a fictitious award ceremony.

He raped the girl inside his vehicle with tinted windows in the school parking lot.

According to the News, the rapist sent his victim an email the day following the incident in which he wrote: “I was too rough.” The crime occurred, reports the News, after Criscuolo endeavored to entice his fifth-grade student “for months, sending her suggestive emails and buying her gifts, including an iPod Touch, authorities said.”

Criscuolo – who worked at Public School 386 – had been a teacher since 2002, which is the same year his victim was born. He was earning $73,000 a year before the court ordered the surrender of his teaching license.