Teacher at Christian private school jailed after having sex with student in a cemetery

Charli Jones Parker was sentenced to three-years behind bars

Charli Jones Parker will serve three years in prison followed by five years probation (Pickens County Sheriff Office)

A former teacher at a private Christian school who admitted to having sex with one of her pupils, including at least four times in a cemetery, has been jailed for three years.

Charli Jones Parker was arrested last year on multiple charges of having sex with at least two students Pickens Academy in Carrolton, Alabama.

But after pleading guilty to one charge of a school employee having sex with a student under the age of 19, the 31-year-old's potential 12 year prison sentence was reduced to three, followed by five years of probation.

Parker, who was the head coach for the girls’ basketball team, had sex with one of the pupils 11 times between October 2014 and march 2016 in several locations, including her own home and at a local cemetery, according to court records from the previous cases.

Separately, her husband James Franklin Parker, who was the boy’s basketball coach, was also arrested and charged with having sex with a female student.

He has denied the charges and is due to stand trial in November.

Local police chief Andy Hamlin told news channel, WBRC: “There needs to be a definitive line drawn in the sand that makes a statement to the public that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

“Nobody wants to have to see their kids going through something like that. I've tried 3 or 4 of those cases in the last year or so and it's hard on the kids and it's hard on the parents”.