An Arkansas teacher who once stunned students on national television for making love to her students has pleaded guilty to having sex with high school boys up to 30 times.
Heather Hare, a 33-year-old married mother, was surprised when her students said goodbye to her on “Good Morning America” in 2020, when home economics classes were canceled for distance learning due to the pandemic. It became a hot topic for the first time.
She pleaded guilty Monday to transporting a minor across state lines for unlawful sexual activity and could now spend the rest of her life in prison. the prosecutor said.
Hare was arrested in April last year on suspicion of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette also reported.
The boy, identified only as “JR,” told police he met Hare on the first day of his senior year at Bryant High School in the fall of 2021, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ray White said.
“Mr. Hare began one-on-one counseling sessions with the underage victim, eventually providing her personal phone number and communicating with her primarily through Instagram and Snapchat,” prosecutors said. .
“At one point, Ms. Hare told JR that she had a dream about the two of them having sex,” Ms. White said.
“The underage victim and Hare had sex approximately 20 to 30 times during the 2021-2022 school year, including at his home in Conway, in his car, in a Bryant High School classroom and in the parking lot.” It was included multiple times.”
Among them, during a school trip to Washington DC in April 2022, Mr. Hare took JR and three female students to participate in a national LifeSmart contest related to the Family and Consumer Science course. It also included what happened when I did it.
“JR advised her that she was going to have sex during the trip and that she didn't have to worry about getting caught,” White said. “Halle did come to the hotel room and the two had sex.”
The former teacher broke down in tears when asked in court if everything detailed by prosecutors was “100% accurate.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, crying quietly, before confirming that she had pleaded “guilty.”
She accepted federal transfer on the lesser charge in a plea deal that called for 13 years in prison.
However, the judge refused to rule on whether Hare would accept the deal, telling Hare he would decide at sentencing.
If he refuses, she has the option of withdrawing her guilty plea and going to trial.
Prosecutors emphasized that if that happens, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
“This former teacher took advantage of his position of trust and the minor's vulnerability and used that role to seduce and entice this minor to engage in illicit sexual activity,” Jonathan said. said U.S. Attorney Ross.
“Our office will continue to seek significant penalties against any education professional who sexually abuses students.”
No sentencing date has been set.
When Hare appeared on “GMA” in 2020, she said that when she saw the students saying goodbye, “the scales immediately fell from my eyes and I started crying a lot.”
Bella Watkins, a sophomore at the time, invited 11 of her friends and shared a selfie as she bid farewell to the popular educator. ABC News reported at that time.
“It breaks my heart that so many children enjoy coming to my class for a day off,” Hare said on the show. “The last unit was sewing. There were lots of fun projects. [planned] And we couldn't do them. ”
