DARBY, Pa. – A Pennsylvania elementary teacher who repeatedly sexually assaulted numerous prepubescent girls over a 14 year period will serve one to two years in state prison.

Paul Hochschwender, 55, taught second grade at Darby Township Elementary School in Glenolden, where several young girls came forward last year with allegations he touched their chest, buttocks and genitalia, ABC 6 reports.

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Hochschwender was arrested in March 2014, and again in April and May as more victims came forward with similar allegations.

“He was charged in March with inappropriately touching students, corruption of minors and sexual assault after two of his students and one former student came forward. In April he faced more charges, including nine counts of institutional sexual assault, 17 counts of indecent assault of a person under 13, and nine counts of corruption of minors, after four more students and another former student came forward,” NBC Philadelphia reports.

The next month, a 21-year-old woman went to police to report she was groped by Hochschwender when she was in first grade at Ithan Elementary School in February 2000.

“During her interview with police, the woman claimed Hochschwender sucked her ear, made her sit on his lap and placed his hands down her pants,” according to the news site.

Several other young girls relayed similar stories to police, about how the teacher would constantly touch them on the shoulder or hand, or put his hands on their private parts.

One of the girls, now 18, said the teacher repeatedly touched her inappropriately between 2006 and 2007 while she was a fifth grader at Darby Township Elementary.

“It was kind of a normal thing for him that when you would go up to ask him a question, he would touch your shoulder and grab your hands,” the girl said, according to NBC Philadelphia. “He would just always grab my hand and I didn’t think anything of it. I just thought that was him. He’s a touchy feely guy who didn’t know what personal space was.”

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The teacher eventually grabbed the girl’s hand and put it on his penis, she said, prompting her to complain to a school guidance counselor.

“The guidance counselor made comments about his family and his job and ruining his career,” according to a police report.

The counselor got the girl’s mother and school principal involved, but she told police she later denied the accusations in a meeting with the counselor, her mother, the guidance counselor and Hochschwender.

“I know I’m going to deny it because I have him as a teacher in class and I don’t get to change classes,” she said. “I’m in the class all day with him. I’m freaking out inside and the principal is telling me you need to explain to us what happened.”

The girl told police she was intimidated by Hochschwender so she lied.

“Mr. Hochschwender, he was just kind of dead silent,” she said. “He said a few words but I don’t remember what he said. He had like a smile on his face, like nothing was going to happen, nothing is going to happen to me,” the victim told police.

“My mom explained the issue exactly how I said it to her. Mr. Hochschwender was just shrugging his shoulders. I just completely denied the whole thing. They just kept trying, pushing me on to get the issue out. I denied it. And it was because he was there.”

At the former teacher’s sentencing hearing this week, psychologist Melanie Cerone testified that Hochschwender “groomed his victims – whispering to them, giving them candy – and that behavior escalated to touching of a sexual nature: touching their chest, genitalia and buttocks, in most cases over their clothes,” ABC 6 reports.

The victims were all between 6 and 10 years old at the time of the crime.

Hochschwender was sentenced to one to two years in state prison, 10 years of probation and will be required to register as a violent sex offender for the rest of his life.

His teaching certificate was revoked.

Hochschwender began serving his sentence earlier this year, ABC 6 reports.

Families of two of the teacher’s victims are also suing Hochschwender, the school district and several school officials for failing to protect the girls. The district did not conduct a proper background check or look into available records that detained prior allegations of sexual misconduct with students, NBC Philadelphia reports.

The practice of “passing the trash” – a phrase in public education referring to deals for accused teachers in which school and union officials exchange a letter of recommendation for a letter of resignation – is a common occurrence in many states.

The Darby Township lawsuit also accuses school administrators and employees of failing to report suspected child abuse as required by the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law, according to the news site.