A former Millard teacher was sentenced Wednesday for the sexual assault and abuse of two children.

Anthony Weber was arrested last January at Kiewit Middle School where he had been teaching sixth-grade English. By all accounts Weber was a wonderful teacher. Parents were shocked over news of his arrest, many of them in tears. They described an energetic man who was a driving force in their children's education.

Weber admitted Wednesday to sexually assaulting two brothers. A judge ordered that he spend 6-10 years behind bars, though his sentence carries a mandatory release date of five years. Weber will be eligible for parole in three years.

Leaving the Douglas County courtroom in tears, the mother of Weber's victims turned to her support group of family and friends. The sentence also helped ease the pain. "I think it was about what we had hoped for," said Martha, who asked that we not use the family's last name. "I did it, not for my kids because there's nothing I can do for my kids now, I did it for all of yours."

In a statement made to Judge J. Patrick Mullen, Weber said, "I know what I've done is wrong. I've proceeded to get counseling. I wish I could make it go away, but I can't." Judge Mullen said Weber's crime robbed the children of their innocence and undermines trust in authority figures. "He violated his position of trust as a teacher and that's one of those factors you consider when sentencing," said Weber's attorney, James Martin Davis. "He recognized that, I recognized that, certainly the court did."

While the court case may be over, the pain and suffering Martha's family has gone through is still present. The healing will take time, but now that Weber has been sentenced, the family can concentrate on other things. "It's to put this year behind us and to somehow try and move on onto some normalcy if that's possible," said Martha. They live in another state now and said they're trying to get past all of this, but that's not in their near future. Several of the abuses occurred in that other state and the victims may have to go through another court process.

As for the victims today, the older boy is 18 and handling it as well as can be expected. The younger boy, now 15, was only 10 when this started. He's having a more difficult time.