Thirty-three-year-old Heather Hare, a former teacher in the US state of Arkansas, pleaded guilty to having sex with a student who was aged 17 years. She engaged in sexual activities with the student at least 30 times.
Hare pleaded guilty to transporting a minor across state lines for unlawful sexual activity and if found guilty she could face life sentence. She first made headlines during the pandemic during a TV show where her students were bidding her goodbye after her online classes were discontinued in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was arrested last year in April after her victim came forward to report her repeated abuse. The student has been identified using the letters JR. He told the police he first met Hare on the first day of his senior year at Bryant High School in 2021.
“Hare began one-on-one counselling sessions with the minor victim, eventually giving him her personal phone number and primarily communicating with him through Instagram and Snapchat. At one point, Ms. Hare told JR that she had a dream of them having sex,” Assistant US Attorney John Ray White was quoted as saying by the New York Post.
“The minor victim and Hare had sex approximately 20 to 30 times throughout the 2021-2022 school term, including multiple times at her Conway residence, in her vehicle, and in her classroom and parking lots at Bryant High School,” the prosecutor further added.
The prosecutor said that one sexual encounter took place during a school trip in 2022. The prosecutor said that JR advised Hare to have sex on the trip. “Hare did come to his hotel room and the two engaged in sex,” he said.
Hare broke down in court when she was asked if the account of events were correct. “Yes, sir,” she responded. Moments later she pleaded guilty.
Hare made a plea deal seeking 13 years in prison but the judge is yet to reveal whether he has accepted the deal which opens the possibility of a life sentence.
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