A former drama teacher in Chappaqua received a sentence of three years of probation as part of a plea deal after he sexually abused three students.

Christopher Schraufnagel, a 42-year-old who has cancer, worked at Horace Greeley High School. He must also register as a sex offender and surrender his teaching license.

Schraufnagel pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three 15-year-old male students on school grounds between 2011 and 2015 and in November 2016. The judge issued orders of protection against the disgraced teacher for each of the victims. They will expire after five years.

Schraufnagel initially pleaded guilty in a deal that would have had him surrender his teaching license and serve three years of probation. That deal was later rejected by the judge because it did not require Schraufnagel to register as a sex offender, prompting the new deal. In the new deal, he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child and one misdemeanor count of sexual abuse.

In addition to the three victims, seven other students have come forward with civil litigation against Schraufnagel.

A lawyer for the victims, David Engelsher, says he doesn't view the sentence as closure. 

"What everyone in this community needs to remember is that hurt, pain, and the damage this man caused is continuing permanently to the kids I represent," Engelsher says.

Other Chappaqua residents like Gary Murphy aren't happy with the sentence, either. Murphy's children weren't involved in the case, but he criticized the light sentence and shouted an obscenity at Schraufnagel as he left the courtroom.

"The school board, the judge, the district attorney -- they got what they wanted. They protected the name Chappaqua. They didn't protect students. They didn't protect the children," Murphy says.