BALTIMORE (AP) — Students of a former teacher serving life for raping a student say they plan to do whatever they can to make sure he stays behind bars.

A federal judge has ruled that John Merzbacher had ineffective counsel before his 1995 trial and should be offered a 10-year plea deal again. Filings are expected this week in a federal appeals court in Richmond.

Merzbacher was accused of molesting more than a dozen children, but those charges were dropped when he was convicted and sentenced to four life terms.

About two dozen former students met last weekend at the now closed Catholic middle school in Locust Point. Former student Steve Melnick told The Baltimore Sun that he and his classmates are prepared to testify again to keep Merzbacher behind bars.

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