A Colorado woman whose whirlwind sexual relationship with a teen boy she babysat ended in the boy's suicide got tossed in jail and hit with a probation stint that could last a while.
Brenda Harding, 30, of Canon City, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault on a child. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail in addition to 10 years to life on probation, KRDO reported.
She began hooking up with 15-year-old Tristen Hagen, of Buena Vista, Colo. while working as his caregiver.
The terms of her sentence forbid her from having contact with anyone under the age of 18 until a risk assessment is completed - a ruling that includes her own two children. She also must register as a sex offender.
Hagen committed suicide in April after Harding ended the relationship at the urging of the teen's father, who had begun to suspect they were involved in hanky panky. He died of a drug overdose.
Hagen was reported missing the day after their breakup.
His body was found two days later, lying one block from Harding's home, a spot so close to his babysitter's pad that police reports suggested "he might have been looking at her house" at the time of death, the Pueblo Chieftain reported.
Mike Hagen, the boy's father, said his son would still be alive if not for Harding.
"We found his lifeless body on a hill," he told the courtroom. "She was told by me and other people to leave him alone. We don't want to see this happen to anyone else."
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