(PORTSMOUTH, Ohio) — A former teacher in the Bloom-Vernon Local School District was sentenced to prison today for engaging in a sexual relationship with a student, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced.
Caroline Johnson, 36, was sentenced to one year in prison. Upon release, she will be required to register as a Tier III sex offender for the rest of her life.
“There’s one last lesson to be learned from this former teacher – students are not targets for sexual relationships,” Yost said. “She destroyed her career, family and reputation for the thrill of an affair, without bothering to think about the consequences.”
Ohio law prohibits those in a position of power from engaging in sex with a student enrolled at the school where they work, regardless of the student’s age or whether the two consider the relationship consensual.
Johnson pleaded guilty in October to two counts of sexual battery after an investigation by Yost’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation found that she had engaged in sexual activity with a minor during her employment with Bloom-Vernon Local Schools. Johnson was a coach and intervention specialist.
The case was prosecuted by Yost’s Special Prosecution Section.
This is the fourth case in recent years involving an inappropriate relationship between a student and school employee that has been prosecuted by the attorney general’s office:
- Mason Williams, a former school resource officer with National Trail High School in Preble County, was convicted on Nov. 20 of two counts of sexual battery and tampering with evidence. He will be sentenced Dec. 16.
- Shawn Long, a former school resource officer with East Liverpool Schools in Columbiana County, was sentenced in February to 90 days in jail for disseminating material harmful to juveniles. Investigators found that he had messaged a 17-year-old student and sent her photos of his genitals.
- Steve Kent, a former school resource officer with Poland Local Schools in Mahoning County, recently lost an appeal of his one-year sentence for tampering with evidence to cover up a relationship he had with a student. He is currently incarcerated at the Toledo Correctional Institution.