An ex-teacher will spend nearly half-a-century in the slammer for his disturbing actions to students

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Steven Cortez, who was 28 years old when he was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, won’t be seeing freedom for a few decades after he was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday. He was given 30 years for aggravated sexual assault of a child and 10 years for indecency with a child, KTRK reported.

Cortez was arrested in March of 2016 by the Alvin Police Department. At the time of his arrest, one parent recalled, “my children in high school they knew him. They said he was a really nice guy. They were really surprised.”

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The exact circumstances of the sexual assault are somewhat unclear. KTRK’s report states that Cortez had “an inappropriate relationship with a student.”

The convict taught sixth grade science at Harby Junior High and after his arrest, the district sent a letter home to parents. Cortez’s arrest marked the second such incident at the school in the previous two years — a teacher resigned the year before after having a lewd conversation with a student via social media.