Female Teacher sex offender: A female gym teacher has been charged with committing sex acts with students from her high school football team.
Stacy Schuler, 32, appeared in court in Mason, Ohio today accused of 19 felony counts of sexual battery involving five male students and three misdemeanor charges of serving alcohol to underage youths.
She faces a maximum of more than 96 years in prison if she is convicted of all the charges.
Accused: Mason High School gym teacher Stacy Schuler, 32, had sexual contact with five of her pupils between last August and December, a court heard
The health and physical education teacher at Mason High School, who has never been in trouble before, was released after spending the weekend behind bars.
But she will have to wear a GPS device on her ankle and was warned by the judge to stay away from all high school students.
She is expected to resign the job she has had for the last ten years at tonight’s Mason School Board meeting.
‘A teacher is a person with authority over students,’ said Chief Assistant Warren Count Prosecutor Bruce McGary.
He said Schuler had sexual contact with male students on five different occasions last year, but he did not explain the nature of the misconduct.
Mason High School Principal Mindy McCarty-Stewart said Schuler would have ‘opportunities to have contact with students through athletics'.
Tip off: Schuler, who worked at Mason High School in Ohio, has been under investigation after an anonymous tip was called in to officials last month
When the boys’ parents found out about the allegations, they ‘were surprised and they had no idea about it', said Mason police Detective Toni Hoelke.
If found guilty on all counts, Schuler faces one to five years in prison on each count of sexual battery and six months in jail on each count of serving alcohol to an underage person.
School officials launched the probe on January 10 after they received an anonymous tip that a high school teacher was inappropriately involved with a student.
Charged: A Warren County Sheriff's Deputy escorts Stacy Schuler from the station after she turned herself in on February 4
The unmarried gym teacher, from Springboro, Ohio, has been on paid leave from her $53,194-a-year job since January 18.
Arguing for her release in court today, Schuler’s lawyer Charlie Rittgers said she had the support of her parents, who were in the public gallery, and that she had never had any problems with the law in her life.
Shuler is charged with four counts of sexual battery with one of the male students on August 20, three counts of sexual battery with another student on August 27, four counts with another student on September 10, four counts with another student between September17 and October 15 and another four counts with the fifth and final teenage boy between December 1 and December 23.
None of the alleged sexual acts took place on school grounds.
Shortly after being hired in 2000, Schuler earned a certificate of completion for a four-hour course called ‘Child Abuse & Neglect Training’ to train teachers in recognizing students suffering from abuse.
The authorities said George Coates, a mason High School assistant principal who resigned last week, had allegedly sent Schuler text messages involving sexual images.
But police said he is not under investigation and the alleged acts did not involve students.
