June 9th, 2015 by WCBC Radio
Former Mountain Ridge Teacher Bart Alan Mazer was sentenced Tuesday afternoon in Allegany County Circuit Court for his recent plea of guilty to 4th Degree Sexual Offense.
Judge Timothy Finan followed the guidelines of a sentencing report, and sentenced Mazer to one year in the Allegany County Detention Center, suspending one year of jail time in a related case. He will then face three years of supervised probation following his release.
Mazer will be eligible for work release during his time in jail, to a job not related to education. He was also prohibited from contacting the victims in the case, and will be required to register as a sex offender.
Mazer appeared in court in a dress shirt and tie, apologized to his victims and the community, and accepted full responsibility for his actions. His attorney, Steve Friend, asked for no jail time, pointing to a case involving a female teacher which resulted in such a sentence, and referred to several letters from local supporters. A counselor said that Mazer was making solid progress in his rehabilitation.
Assistant State’s Attorney Jackie Brandelin told the court there were other victims where charges were not pursued because of the expiration of a one year statute of limitations, and said Mazer was involved in a “serial type situation. “ Judge Finan said that he did not believe that Mazer was likely to re-offend, but said that it wasn’t an isolated incident, and that there had to be punishment because the facts of a 40 year old man and 15 year old girls.
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