Music teacher gets 2 years for molesting 9-year-old girl

The former head of a well-known New York music school was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday for molesting a 9-year-old student. Ilya Lehman, 70, apologized to his victim and her family during a hearing in a Manhattan court, the New York Post reported. But the judge who refused to reduce the sentence agreed to in his plea bargain said Lehman still appears to feel the girl was a willing participant. Justice Jill Konviser said that a pre-sentence report quoted Lehman describing the victim as "flirtatious," the New York Daily News said. "Sadly, he still blames the victim," Konviser said. "I don't really know what to say about that. She's 9 years old. It's ludicrous." A Russian immigrant with a degree from the Moscow Conservatory, Lehman founded the Early Ear school in Manhattan in 1992. He sold the school after his arrest last year.