A former high school teacher in Texas was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for engaging in group sex with four students while a fifth caught the encounter on a cell phone camera.

Brittni Colleps, 28, originally faced a maximum of 20 years behind bars for the 16 counts of having improper relationships with students at Kennedale High School in Kennedale, Texas. The former English teacher hosted the group of students in her home while her three children and Army specialist husband were away.

Colleps escaped charges of statutory rape, as the young men involved were all 18 at the time. Several of the students testified in court under pseudonyms and described the trysts at Colleps' home, where she modeled lingerie, showcased sex toys and participated in a game of truth or dare that spurred the group sex session in her bedroom.

The incident was captured on a graphic cell phone video that was shown to the jury as evidence. Colleps' face wasn't visible in the video, but she was identified by a distinctive tattoo on her lower back.

Colleps' husband, Christopher Colleps, pleaded with the court to be lenient in his wife's sentencing, adding that though he was standing by his wife and the couple had engaged in legal group sex with other adults previously, he was hurt by this ordeal with her students.

"I'm asking you to give her probation. It's not my fault or her children's, and taking her away from us is punishing us," he said. "Brittni saved my life before I met her. I was doing bad things, and when I met Brittni she gave me someone to love and care about."

Colleps' mother also spoke to the court on her daughter's behalf.

"Have mercy on her as someone who has done nothing wrong except in that time period," said Colleps' mother, Shirley Bush. "Have mercy on her kids; they don't understand this. She's a generous person. When I went through cancer she was seven months pregnant and she shaved her head. She is a loving daughter, a loving wife, regardless of what happened in this situation."

In-depth testimony from the students Colleps slept with revealed the students tried to protect their teacher from the consequences of their intimate relationship.

One student said that when he was confronted by school administrators about the incident, he denied it - not out of embarrassment, but because he wanted to protect Colleps.

"I didn't want to get her in trouble," he said. "I wanted to save her."