A former Mountlake Terrace teacher was sentenced Aug. 29 to a minimum of five years in prison after pleading guilty to fondling boys and possessing child pornography in his elementary school classroom.

“I am very sorry if I caused any harm,” Wayne Earl Christopherson, 50, told Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Gerald Knight.

The statement didn’t sit well with the judge.

“Well, sir, it is not a question of ‘if’ you have caused harm. You have caused harm,” Knight told Christopherson.

The judge then listed the victims: Christopherson’s former students, their families, other teachers and a society that raises children to believe educators are good, caring people.

Christopherson in July pleaded guilty to one count each of first-degree child molestation and possession of child pornography.

The charges came after a boy in Christopherson’s fourth-grade class in January told his parents about improper touching.

An investigation by Mountlake Terrace police led to seven boys who shared details about similar incidents of molestation. Sufficient evidence existed to file multiple charges, deputy prosecutor Matt Baldock said.

A search of Christopherson’s classroom computer also turned up images of a man having sex with an underage boy.

“This was a gross abuse of trust,” the prosecutor said.

Christopherson entered an Alford plea, an option that allowed him to plead guilty and avoid a trial without taking full responsibility for his misconduct. Under the plea, Christopherson didn’t admit wrongdoing but acknowledged sufficient evidence existed to ensure his conviction.

Baldock said Christopherson’s unwillingness to fully admit his misdeeds was tantamount to “perpetrating fraud on his friends and family and perhaps even himself.”

The defendant’s supporters filled two rows in the courtroom. His cousin, Brian Christopherson, described the defendant as a devoted father and husband who would never knowingly harm children.

Knight challenged Christopherson to show courage similar to that of the boys he fondled by speaking honestly about what happened.

“This wasn’t accidental touching. This wasn’t a touching motivated by love,” the judge said.

Christopherson resigned from his teaching job in March. He knows he never again will work as a teacher, the judge was told.

Christopherson must serve five years in prison before he can become eligible for release. A state review board could keep him behind bars for life.

Scott North is a writer for The Herald in Everett.