Sex with students bill would increase penalties

By Marc Kovac | March 13, 2015 at 12:02a.m.

Measure expands law to protect students

COLUMBUS

Lunch ladies, janitors and other school employees would face increased criminal penalties for having sex with students, under legislation being considered in the Ohio House.

Rep. Christina Hagan, R-Alliance, offered House Bill 92 partly in response to a 2011 incident in her district in which a high-school cafeteria worker had relations with a half-dozen students.

That individual did not face charges for the activities, however, because of a loophole in state law.

“It may surprise some of you to learn that in the state of Ohio, you cannot send pornographic images of yourself to a student as a nonauthority employee of our school systems, but a person in that position may currently engage in sexual activity with students above 16 without legal repercussions,” Hagan told the House’s Judiciary Committee, where the bill had its first hearing this week.

Under state law, teachers, school administrators, coaches and other employees in positions of authority over students are prohibited from engaging in sexual relationships with students.

HB 92 expands that law to include other school employees who are not in positions of authority over students.

Hagan cited the case of Stacy St. Jean-Baron, a cafeteria worker in Stark County who had inappropriate relations with six students. She ultimately was convicted for sending nude photos to the students, but she did not face charges for the relationships because the students were older than 16, the age of consent in Ohio.

Hagan offered and the Ohio House passed comparable legislation during the last general assembly, but the bill stalled in the Ohio Senate.