PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WMDJ) — A former substitute teacher in Pike County will spend two years in prison in connection with a case involving a teenage student.

Hunter Plymale, 28, received the sentence Wednesday in Pike Circuit Court after pleading guilty in June to third-degree rape.

The investigation began in 2022 after a 15-year-old reported that Plymale sexually assaulted her on a secluded road in the Sidney community. Plymale had worked as a substitute teacher at several schools in the district and was assigned to Belfry Elementary School at the time.

The case remained unresolved for several years after an earlier guilty plea was withdrawn and Plymale changed attorneys.

Pike County Schools fired Plymale after the allegations surfaced. He was lodged into Pike County Dentention Center following Wednesday’s hearing and has been registered as a sex offender.