Teacher charged with having sex with student

The investigation shows the teacher and student spent hours talking to each other on cell phones.

STAFF REPORT

COLUMBIANA — A Columbiana teacher could face up to five years in prison on allegations of sexual activity with a 16-year-old female student.

Joseph Neiheisel, 26, of Cherry Fork Road, Leetonia, was secretly indicted last week by a Columbiana County grand jury on a charge of sexual battery as part of an alleged relationship with a female student.

He was released on a $10,000 recognizance bond. He has not entered a plea.

Kathy Green, the head of the teachers union, did not respond to a request for a comment.

Tim McNicol, the assistant county prosecutor who handles sexual abuse cases, said Wednesday the sex act was consensual.

The indictment said the incident occurred in September.

McNicol said that an investigation showed only one occurrence of sex between the teacher and student at a residence in Columbiana owned by a Neiheisel relative.

Columbiana schools Superintendent Ron Iarussi said the district received a tip about the case Nov. 6. The matter was then referred to Columbiana County Children Services for further investigation.

Neiheisel was suspended from his job in the Columbiana school district by the school board in December after the allegation came to light.

Neiheisel, a science teacher, was initially suspended with pay, and later without pay, the superintendent said. He remains suspended.

A published report said Neiheisel had been on the school staff for a year, serving as a permanent substitute last year and working under a one-year teaching contract for this school year.

Detective John Jay of the Columbiana Police Department said when he was called in to help investigate, he discovered the Columbiana teacher and the student spent more than 4,000 minutes on the phone in a three-month period late last year.

“That’s like 77 hours,” Jay said.

The age of consent for sexual activity in Ohio is 16.

Ohio law, however, bars sexual relationships between teachers and their students.

That, Jay said, is because the teacher is acting in lieu of the parents in supervising the student.

McNicol said the third-degree felony charge against Neiheisel could bring a prison sentence of one to five years in prison and up to a $15,000 fine.

He would lose his teacher’s license if convicted.