RITZVILLE - Former Othello teacher Lisa Davis was sentenced Monday to a minimum of 12 months in jail after pleading guilty to first-degree child molestation last month.

An Adams County Superior Court judge originally sentenced Davis, 48, to more than four years for molesting a 10-year-old boy. The judge agreed to suspend all but 12 months of the sentence if Davis can complete a special sex offender treatment program.

Davis could face more jail time if she is not able to complete the outpatient treatment program.

Davis spoke in court for the first time Monday, apologizing to her family and the victim's family.

"I have spent my entire life trying to be kind and helpful to others and it's a crushing feeling to know I have failed and cause grief within my family and others in the community, especially my husband," she said. "I would also like to apologize to the other family in this situation. I take full responsibility for my actions. I'm very sorry."

The victim's family was not present Monday to address the court.

Moses Lake attorney Patrick Earl, representing Davis, said she had no explanation to why she molested the boy. He said he was happy with the outcome of the sentence, adding Davis' actions were "completely out of character."

Davis has been in Adams County Jail since pleading guilty Sept. 16 to molesting a 10-year-old student, including inappropriately touching the boy and kissing him on several occasions. Davis is a former fifth-grade teacher at Scootney Springs Elementary School in Othello.

Davis initially pleaded not guilty during her first court appearance in July. She changed her plea to guilty in September after agreeing to a deal with prosecutors.

Davis will be required by law to register as a sex offender and is prohibited from having contact with the victim or the victim's family and from contact with minors. The judge did allow Davis to have supervised visits with her three grandchildren.

She will continue to serve her 12-month sentence before entering the sex offender treatment program.

The victim's family has filed a notice of intent to file a claim against the Othello School District, seeking $1 million in compensation for failing to protect the victim, according to a previous Columbia Basin Herald story.

Davis' teaching license will be permanently revoked and the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction had started the process to revoke her license in September when she pled guilty, according to Communication Manager Nathan Olson.