OGDEN — A former teaching assistant who pleaded guilty to felony charges involving sexual exploitation with a student at his school was sentenced to 180 days incarceration and 36 months probation at Ogden Second District Court Tuesday.

Zachary John Arrington, 20, of West Haven said in statements to the judge at the hearing that the offense was abnormal for his life.

“I truly am very sorry for it,” Arrington said at the hearing. “I was in a very dark place in my life but I feel like I am in a good place right now and am making good progress.”

Judge Noel Hyde sentenced Arrington to an initial 60-day incarceration at Weber County Jail and a 120 days of day-reporting to the jail. Hyde also restricted any work release for Arrington’s initial 20 days in prison. Arrington was taken into custody immediately following the hearing.

Arrington pleaded guilty on April 28 to three third-degree felony charges — one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of attempted dealing in harmful materials to a minor and one count of obstruction of justice.

The Weber County Attorney’s Office dismissed two other felonies and a misdemeanor charge in exchange for the guilty pleas.

Arrington was a teaching assistant employed with the public charter school Quest Academy in West Haven and had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl who attended the school, according to officials. The relationship began in September, court records indicate.

Arrington received an inappropriate photograph of a 14-year-old girl who was a student at the school, and he also sent an inappropriate photograph if himself to the girl, according to prosecutors at the April 28 court hearing.

Quest Academy fired Arrington in October 2014 after the accusations were revealed and Arrington was booked in the Weber County Jail on Dec. 9.

Quest Academy Principal Dave Bullock said in a prepared statement at the time of Arrington’s arrest, “The arrest of staff assistant Zachary Arrington comes as a surprise to us. A background check was completed and cleared at the time this employee was hired.”

Arrington does not have a prior criminal history and served no jail time prior Tuesday’s hearing, according to court records.

Contact reporter Taylor Hintz at 801-625-4221 or thintz@standard.net. Follow on Twitter @TaylorHintzSE for breaking news updates.