An Idaho middle school teacher was sentenced Thursday to up to 60 years behind for grooming and sexually abusing a student in the classroom, prosecutors said. 

Cory Gaylor, 52, was a Spanish, Introduction to World Cultures and Advisory teacher at Kuna Middle School when he was arrested in December 2022. 

Gaylor pleaded guilty in July to lewd conduct with a minor child under 16 and enticing a child over the internet, the Ada County Prosecutor’s office said. 

Prosecutors said Gaylor groomed and sexually abused the victim in his classroom on multiple occasions. Gaylor also texted to entice the victim for several weeks prior to the illegal sexual contact. 

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"Every day parents send their kids off to school. A place that is supposed to be protected, a place where kids are supposed to get to be kids, a space that is safe for kids to learn and grow," Deputy Prosecutor Katelyn Farley said during sentencing. 

"The defendant was a teacher and was supposed to be teaching (the victim). Instead, the defendant took this safe place and used it to select a victim. The fact that he used his position to engage in this conduct is reprehensible."

Gaylor will be eligible for parole after 13 years, the prosecutor’s office said. 

Kuna School District was not available for comment. Kuna is about 20 miles west of Boise.