Channel 2 had the only cameras rolling Thursday as former Harrison High School orchestra director Steven Parkman agreed to spend two years in prison for a relationship with a 17-year-old student.

“I would like to say at this time it’s good to bring closure at this time and to forgive and forget,” said the student’s father.

At one point, Parkman thought he could avoid a trial altogether.

A Cobb County judge recently tossed out another case involving an affair between teacher Christopher King and a 17-year-old student, after the student admitted the relationship was consensual.

Parkman insisted his teacher-student relationship was the same, but after the King case, prosecutors re-indicted him and included a sodomy charge, because Parkman admitted to engaging in oral sex with the student at Harrison High and in the parking lot of a public library.

Parkman’s attorney insisted his client had a good defense, but told Elliot that the addition of the rarely-used sodomy charge put Parkman in a no-win situation.

By law, Parkman will have to serve most of his two-year sentence in prison, followed by eight years on probation. He has also sent in his teaching certificate.

The young woman’s father told the judge she was receiving counseling and agreed with the deal.