Jennifer Mally will serve six months in prison and must register as a sex offender after a judge sentenced her for three counts of sex with a minor. The former teacher and cheer coach at Paradise Valley High School in northeast Phoenix wept as she addressed the Maricopa County Superior Court judge before her sentencing. Mally, 27, said she asked her students to make her proud. Mally was arrested a year ago and charged with 17 counts of sex with a minor. She pleaded guilty to three counts in March and was sentenced on Friday.

Several people, including members of her cheer squad, her pastor and her husband, spoke in her defense. They described a fun-loving, committed teacher who went the extra mile to help with academic and personal problems. Several of the cheerleaders wore T-shirts reading "Team Mally," and one wore a shirt saying, "I make Mally proud." One of them said, "Her door was always open, her heart was always open."

Altogether now: "...her mouth was always open, her legs were always open..."

You wonder why teachers feel underappreciated our society? What do we look for in someone who's going to mold young minds? By all accounts, Jennifer Mally is all of those things. Is she "fun-loving"? Yes (sex is fun). Does she go "the extra mile to help with... personal problems"? Yes (if your particular personal problem is lack of sex). Is she "committed"? Yes (for six months). All she wanted to do was to inspire her students to "make her proud" and they did. 17 times. And for that, they've thrown her in jail. I don't know how the Paradise Valley HS cheer squad will ever be cheerful again.

As a side note, what do you think you had to do to earn a "Team Mally" t-shirt? And would anyone buy one if Barstool printed some that said "I Gave Jennifer Mally My Virginity and All I Got Was This Lousy 'Team Mally' T-Shirt"?

The Grades:
Looks: I'm guessing this isn't a formal portrait and Jenn looked better at cheerleader practice, but still. Yikes. How do you get a complexion like that in Arizona? She looks like she just crawled out of Naomi Watts' TV. Grade: C-.
Moral Compass/Bad Judgement: The kid in question was 16 years old. And according to transcripts of an audio recording Mally had this exchange with him:

Mally: All you need to do is tell your parents this is all crazy and that it's done.
Boy: You want me to lie to my parents?

Then in the police station she was caught on tape telling her husband "I know what I'm doing, I watch CSI." Grade: A

Intangibles: A defense psychologist testified she has the "maturity of a mid-teen. Ding! Ding! Ding! Grade: A
Overall: B-. Nice effort. Hopefully Jennifer can get a little sun in the yard at prison and come back strong in the fall.