Howell family on sentence: “He was used as an example.”

An ex-high school teacher and wrestling coach was sentenced in Kent County Superior Court Thursday morning for sexually abusing a female student.

Richard "Dickie" Howell, former head coach at Caesar Rodney High School, will serve seven years and three months behind bars. He was initially facing a maximum of 120 years.

Back in February, Howell pleaded to three counts of sexual abuse of a child by a person in a position of trust and three counts of fourth-degree rape. He was arrested in January 2015 after a 17-year-old student reported that Howell had sex with her over several months in 2014 on school grounds and his home.

"His family, Dickie, and everyone knows him knows that he made a mistake," Says his brother Brad Howell, "but he was and still is a good man."

The family told 47ABC they were grateful for the support of the community during the legal process; however, they were "very disappointed" and hope to see "true justice" served.

"We just thought there was no winner or loser here, but unfortunately because he was so popular, we think it was a little bit more political and he was used as an example," explains Brad Howell.

Howell's attorney Alexander Funk tells 47ABC this was the best outcome for his client based on the available evidence. Investigators reportedly found graphic photos and videos of Howell on the girl's cell-phone.

"He made a terrible, unfortunate, tragic decision and made a series of mistakes over a period of time," says Funk. "Those cant be forgiven, those cant be forgotten but the emphasis I was making in court today [Thursday] was that I don't want him to be judged just on this one percent part of his life."

Before the sentence was handed down, the judge told the courtroom that multiple factors had gone in the decision. This includes thousands of text messages which were reportedly exchanged between Howell and the student, his letter to the court, and the defendant appearing what the judge described as "remorseful" for his actions. 

Following the sentencing Thursday morning, a prosecutor for the Delaware Department of Justice ("DOJ") told 47ABC off-camera the agency respects the judge's decision.

Carl Kanefsky, a public information officer for the DOJ, tells us Howell will be on probation for four years after he is released from prison.

Kanefsky says the Department of Correction will ultimately decide where he is serving the sentence.