A former Bedford County teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a high school student entered into a plea agreement Monday in which he forfeited his teaching license.

David Allen Cherry, 39, had faced seven felony counts of indecent liberties with a minor by a custodian. He entered Alford pleas at a hearing Monday to seven reduced charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and was sentenced to serve seven months in jail, with an additional six years and five months suspended, Assistant Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Wes Nance said.

Cherry also was placed on seven years' probation, barred from holding any position of trust over children other than his own, and barred from contact with the victim.

She was 16 in the fall of 2005 when the incidents happened. All of them took place at Staunton River High School, where she was a student and where Cherry taught a computer course, Nance said.

The relationship was consensual, Nance said. The woman came forward in 2007, which meant prosecutors had no forensic evidence to present, only the woman's testimony and testimony from a pair of witnesses who noticed odd behavior between Cherry and the student.

The woman's main purpose in coming forward was to bar Cherry from teaching, Nance said. "It was important for us to meet the goal of our victim."

By entering Alford pleas, Cherry maintained his innocence but chose to avoid the risks of a jury trial.