Heather Hare, a teacher from Arkansas who gained national attention after her students surprised her on live TV in 2020, has been handed a prison sentence for engaging in sexual activities with a 17-year-old student she met at the school where she worked.
The New York Post reported on Monday that the 33-year-old married mother had been sentenced to serve 13 years behind bars. Additionally, she will concurrently serve a term of 20 years.
Married teacher who was surprised by students on ‘GMA’ sentenced for having sex with student https://t.co/x7YEtoJEoN pic.twitter.com/SoAtZhHi1m
— New York Post (@nypost) May 20, 2024
The United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Arkansas released a statement on Wednesday stating that United States District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky had sentenced Hare and provided further details about the case. said
Hare, who taught Family Consumer Science classes at Bryant High School, began a relationship with the victim after meeting him on his first day of senior year. She initiated counseling sessions with him, shared her personal phone number, and communicated with him through Instagram and Snapchat. The illicit relationship escalated to the point where Hare and the minor engaged in sexual activity between 20 to 30 times throughout the 2021-2022 school term, including multiple instances at her residence in Conway, in her vehicle, and even within her classroom and parking lots at Bryant High School.
During a field trip to Washington, D.C., which Hare chaperoned as part of an extracurricular activity related to her classes, she and the minor victim engaged in unlawful sexual activities. Following these events, Hare was indicted on August 1, 2023, on charges of interstate/foreign travel for prostitution/sexual activity by coercion and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Her guilty plea led to the dismissal of the remaining charge.
The Post reported that Hare’s students had surprised her on Good Morning America in 2020 when they bid her farewell as her class was canceled due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
NEWS RELEASE
The Bryant Police Department charged Bryant High School teacher Heather Hare with Sexual Assault 1st Deg after recent allegations of sexual misconduct with a student. Hare turned herself in this morning at the SCSO. pic.twitter.com/OiQ0jnWadf
— BryantPD (@BryantPolice) April 14, 2023
After Hare was dismissed from her position due to the sexual assault allegations in April 2023, community members spoke out against her actions, as reported by KARK.
One woman expressed her disappointment, stating: “I’m saddened by it, actually. I think an adult, and you’re teaching our children, that you would take your platform to misuse and abuse someone else’s child. It’s not fair to the community, it’s not fair to the parents of the child.”
The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) website notes that child sexual abusers are often known to the victim or their family.
In addition to her prison sentence, Hare has also been sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.
Source: www.breitbart.com
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