DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) -  A former long-term substitute teacher for Decatur Public Schools entered a partial plea agreement in court on Thursday.

Alley Bardfield, 34, was arrested by police in April 2024 for sexually abusing and grooming an 11-year-old student.

According to Mt. Zion Police, in early April 2024, a Decatur resident reported a possible inappropriate relationship between Bardfield and her 11-year-old son. The victim is a sixth grade student with DPS at the time of the crime.

During Thursday's hearing, Bardfield took a partial plea agreement to count 1. She will be sentenced on September 25. The state has recommended she be sentenced to 40 years, which would be an 85% sentence.

Back in 2024, the victim's mother said her son had been acting differently after a visit to Bardfield's home. As a result, she said she checked her son's phone and social media. Her son said he had a sexual encounter with Bardfield while he was a guest at her Mt. Zion residence on March 29, 2024, police said.

In early April 2024, officers executing a search warrant at Bardfield's residence and reviewed her text messages and social media accounts.

According to a sworn statement from a Mt. Zion officer, the child's mother said that Bardfield had sent the child over $700 through CashApp over the prior months.

Then during a mirandized interview in 2024 with Bardfield, she admitted to police to having sexual penetration with the victim on one occasion. She also stated that she paid him via CashApp and exchanged nude photographs on Snapchat.

Bardfield is no longer employed with DPS, the District told WAND News.

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