From www.ajc.com: The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday reversed the sexual assault conviction of a 28-year-old school teacher who had a romantic relationship with one of her former students.

In a 5-2 decision, the court said the teacher, Melissa Lee Chase [pictured- no, that’s not Chastity Bono], should have been allowed to present a consent defense at her trial.

“The question is whether, in November 2006, consent of the alleged victim was a defense to the crime of sexual assault of a person enrolled in school,” Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears wrote for the majority. “We have concluded that it was, as long as the student had reached the legal age of consent.”

Under Georgia law, the agent of consent is 16, Sears said. “Generally speaking, it is not a crime in Georgia to have physical sexual contact with a willing participant who is 16 years of age or older.”

According to the court’s ruling, Chase was a highly regard edteacher and coach at Harlem High School, about 20 miles outside of Augusta. The previous year, the 16-year-old junior had been one of Chase’s students.

Between August and November 2006, Chase and the teenage girl developed a friendship that eventually turned romantic and, on one occasion, sexual. After the girl’s mother found notes written by Chase in her daughter’s purse, she called the police.

Chase was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a student. During a bench trial, the student testified that she initiated the relationship with Chase and was the one who “pushed” the issue, the ruling said.

But Chase was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years on probation.

Justice George Carley, joined by Justice Hugh Thompson, dissented, saying the majority incorrectly applied the law and produced a “disturbing” result. “A statute enacted…to protect students from exploitation by teachers is now almost useless due to the judicial imposition of a defense of consent,” Carley wrote.