Friday, May 15, 2015
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A Mahoning County grand jury indicted a former Campbell Memorial High School teacher on charges she had sex with students.
Shannon Pavlansky-Wojtowicz, 31, of Jacobson Road, Edinburg, Pa., faces five counts of sexual battery; five counts of illegal use of a minor in a nudity-oriented performance; one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles; and two additional misdemeanor counts of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
The grand jury handed up the indictment Thursday. She is expected to be arraigned in common pleas court May 26.
“When we first learned of the alleged inappropriate relationships with a student, the administration team acted appropriately, investigated and reported the allegations to local authorities,” said Matt Bowen, superintendent of Campbell schools. “We did accept Ms. Pavlansky’s resignation, and we will further cooperate with any agencies if called upon.”
The sexual-battery charges accuse her of having sex with a 17-year-old student from November to January; with another 17-year-old student from Nov. 1, 2013, to May 31, 2014; and a third 17-year-old student from Sept. 1, 2011, to Oct. 31, 2011.
The charges include specifications she was acting as a teacher or employee of the Campbell school district at the time of the offenses.
The other charges relate to inappropriate text messages she purportedly exchanged with the students.
She resigned after an investigation began in January.
Investigations involving Pavlansky-Wojtowicz stretch back to 2012 and include a separate case in which she was being harassed by a student who threatened to expose her affairs.
Since then, a Campbell police officer was demoted and suspended for his conduct in handling that case, a high-school principal was placed on leave and then brought back, and the investigation had to be taken over by the county sheriff’s office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification.
Pavlansky-Wojtowicz was placed on leave in January after allegations arose she exchanged inappropriate text messages with a student in December and January. She later resigned.
In mid-February, Pavlansky-Wojtowicz surrendered to police on a warrant for her arrest. Her initial court appearance released her on a $1,500 bond.
Conditions were added Feb. 27 mandating she is to have no contact with current or former students, employees and officials of the school district. She identified two family members who work within the district whom she cannot contact while school is in session.
The grand jury also indicted Amanda Basile, 31, of Westchester Drive, Austintown, on a sexual-battery charge.
She was a teacher at Warren G. Harding School who admitted to a Warren police detective she had sex with an 18-year-old student in Austintown.
She also had resigned earlier this month when the allegation was known by the school district. Even though the student is 18, state law says it is illegal for a teacher to have sexual contact with a student.
Contributor: Brandon Klein, staff writer.