A Florida teacher was sentenced to 15 years in prison for secretly recording students as they changed clothes in his fashion design classroom.

Mark William Ackett also must remain on sex offender status for the rest of his life.

The 52-year-old Ackett read an apology, bowed his head and occasionally met the gaze of former students at his sentencing Monday in a Tampa courtroom.

His friends, fellow church members, neighbors and his wife of nearly 30 years asked Hillsborough County Judge Laura Ward for leniency.

His lawyers had asked for no more than three years plus probation.