Ex-teacher gets life in prison

A former elementary school teacher was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for engaging in lewd behavior with three of his students.

The sentence requires Mark Zana to spend at least 22 years behind bars before officials may consider releasing him on parole.

"I think that Mr. Zana is in complete denial of the fact that he has a predatory nature toward young girls," District Judge Jackie Glass said before imposing the penalty.

Probation officials and Chief Deputy District Attorney Thomas Carroll had recommended a life term with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Defense attorney Thomas Pitaro had asked Glass to give his client probation.

One of Zana's victims spoke at the sentencing hearing, as did her parents. The girl, who is now 15, was the first to come forward in the case.

She told Glass that Zana had ruined her trust in men, and she urged the judge to lock him up for as long as possible. She also thanked the other girls for their bravery in reporting Zana's conduct to authorities.

The girl's mother said her daughter is both a victim and a victor. "She stopped Mark Zana in his tracks," the woman said.

Her daughter was 11 when Zana, a fifth-grade teacher, reached in her shirt on two occasions. The woman said she and her husband thought they "were so careful" with their only child.

"We never would have imagined that she wasn't safe at school," the woman testified.

The girl's father said Zana robbed her of her innocence.

"He committed a crime against the wrong girl," the man said, praising his daughter for her courage.

Zana, 40, was convicted of multiple charges in August after six teenagers testified about inappropriate contact he had with them.

Each of the witnesses said the contact occurred when Zana was their teacher at Kesterson Elementary School in Henderson. The jury acquitted Zana of charges involving three of the girls.

Zana taught at Newton Elementary School from 1996 to 1999 and at Kesterson from 1999 until his arrest in September 2005.

Jurors convicted Zana of three felony counts of lewdness with a minor. The charges stemmed from separate incidents during which Zana put his hands down the shirts of two students and touched their breasts.

Zana also was convicted of six felony counts of possession of child pornography involving images police found on his personal computers when they searched his home.

In addition, Zana was convicted of open and gross lewdness with a minor, a gross misdemeanor, involving a student who said Zana had urged her to reach into his pockets to get candy.

"This type of touching can greatly impact young people," Carroll argued.

Pitaro said Zana plans to appeal, and the attorney argued that his client was being penalized for maintaining his innocence.

Pitaro called the harsh sentencing recommendations "media-driven."

Even adults who have had sex with minors rarely receive life sentences, he argued.

Pitaro also pointed out that a report outlining the results of a psycho-sexual evaluation concluded that the risk of Zana committing the same offenses again was low.

Glass said she was shocked when she saw that conclusion. The judge said allegations of Zana's inappropriate contact with young girls go back 15 years and prove he would continue to molest children if allowed to go free.

Carroll said the evaluator did not know about earlier allegations involving Zana.

In 1992, Zana was accused of molesting four girls in Pennsylvania.

In 1998, a second-grader in Southern Nevada claimed Zana had told her to reach into his pocket to get candy.

Carroll said the records from both of those incidents were sealed, but jurors in the recent case heard testimony about the allegations. The testimony established a pattern of Zana's behavior, the prosecutor said.

"He has a strong propensity to be attracted to young girls, and he acts on that," Carroll said.

Glass said she did not believe Pitaro's claim that the victims in the recent case had conspired to make false allegations against Zana.

"They all came forward and said what they did because it actually occurred," the judge said.

Glass said the child pornography Zana had at home showed that he had a sexual interest in young girls.

Zana declined to speak at his sentencing hearing.

If released from prison, the defendant would face lifetime supervision.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0264