Court Rules Convicted Rapist Must Stay in Prison - WBOC-TV 16, Delmarvas News Leader, FOX 21 -

BALTIMORE (AP) - A federal appeals court has ruled that a former Catholic school teacher convicted of raping a student must remain in prison.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., reversed a District Court ruling Friday regarding John Merzbacher, who taught middle school in Baltimore.

The appeals court reversed a 2010 ruling that Merzbacher, who was sentenced in 1995 to four life terms for rape and other offenses, should have been allowed to take a plea deal.

That deal would have allowed him to serve 10 years.

Merzbacher was convicted of crimes that occurred in the 1970s.