ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – A former Catholic school teacher sentenced for having sex with a 16-year-old student was told by a judge Monday that while her behavior “crossed the line” she was a victim, too.

“The 16-year-old in this case is a victim in the statutory sense only,” Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick told Sandra Beth Geisel. “He was certainly not victimized by you in any other sense of the word.”

Geisel pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree rape on Sept. 27 after admitting to having had sex with the boy in May. She was sentenced to six months in jail but is scheduled for release in several weeks, counting time already served. Though she also admitted to having sex with two 17-year-old students, no charges were filed in those incidents because the boys were of legal age.

Herrick, in handing down his sentence, said the students “manipulated, used and sexually abused” Geisel.

“They demeaned and sometimes ridiculed you, putting your calls on speakerphone. They considered you a playmate,” the judge said. “You sensed and knew what was going on but did not extricate yourself, even though you had a son in the same school and in the same grade.”

Herrick’s words infuriated Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who ripped the judge outside court, saying it was “pretty outrageous to characterize someone who was prosecuted by this office as anything other than a sexual offender.”

“The idea that he didn’t see the young boys here as victims is offensive,” Soares said.

Geisel, who was charged with driving while intoxicated in August, also was sentenced to 10 years probation and ordered to complete a mandatory in-house alcohol and mental health treatment and counseling. She also will be required to register with the state as a sex offender.

“I recognize my mistake and I’m very sorry,” said the mother of four who was fired in June from her job as a writing teacher at Christian Brothers Academy in suburban Albany. “I take full responsibility for my actions.”

“You crossed the line from teacher to consort, something that is totally unacceptable in our society – and as a result, you are now a convicted felon,” Herrick said.