Ex-Chicopee teacher pleads guilty to raping teen

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- A former Chicopee High School teacher has been sentenced to up to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty to raping a 15-year-old student.

Donald Cushing pleaded guilty to five counts of rape and abuse of a child and five counts of disseminating obscene matter to a minor this week in Hampden Superior Court.

The Republican newspaper reports that the 60-year-old Cushing was also placed on probation for 10 years and barred from having any unsupervised contact with children under 16, except for family.

The student told police she had sexual intercourse with Cushing three or four times in a classroom closet. She was not in one of his classes.

The math and special education teacher also sent obscene images of himself to her in March and May 2011.