The Gaston County assistant principal who was arrested on charges of sex acts with a student has pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement and is receiving no jail time.

Lisa Renee Rothwell, age 34, was charged earlier this month with six felony counts of sex with a student by a school official.

According to the original arrest warrants, the alleged incidents include both sexual intercourse and oral sex with a student on six separate occasions between April 1 and July 31, 2019. She was issued a $1 million dollar bond at the time of her arrest.

Sex with a student by a school official is a Class G felony carrying a sentence of 8 to 31 months in prison per count.

On Monday afternoon, Rothwell took a plea deal and received 10 to 21 months in a suspended prison sentence and 24 months of probation. The suspended sentence means she will see no jail time.

While pleading guilty, Rothwell admitted that while she was an assistant principal, she had a sexual relationship with not one, but two students. The ages of the victims are 17 and 18 years old.

The 17-year-old victim’s mother called the sentence was “a slap on the wrist.”

“I really trusted this woman and felt like she was somebody that really came into my life and could make a difference,” the mother said according to WCNC. “[She] gave me hope when there was no hope whatsoever.”

Lisa Rothwell

Rothwell was employed by Gaston County Schools for over a decade as an English and exceptional children’s teacher. She has resigned her position as the assistant principal of Stuart W. Cramer High, which she began in 2015 and had previously been an exceptional children’s teacher at the school.

Rothwell has also worked at North Gaston High School, Stanley Middle School, Kiser elementary and Springfield elementary.