Laura Amero, a former superintendent at Windham Exempted Village Schools, has been sentenced for sexually assaulting two students from 2015 to 2017. The 35-year-old was sentenced to the maximum 10 years, according to the Record-Courier.
Amero, who is pregnant, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery and sexual imposition.
“Nobody goes into the field of education to hurt their students,” Amero said, via WFMJ. “I never imagined I would hurt my kids but I did. I allowed lines to be crossed that never should have been crossed.
“There was no purpose other than I let lines cross. There is no one to blame but myself. I got caught up, I let myself come down to their level.”
Along with her 10-year jail sentence, Amero will also have to register as a Tier III sex offender — the highest designation — and pay a $500 fine. Amero is due to give birth in mid-March and will later report to prison on April 1.
Over the course of the past year alone, a handful of teachers have been arrested on similar charges, including 25-year-old substitute teacher Alexis Mercedes Boberg in Baltimore, Beulah High School teacher Kelsie Schmidt in North Dakota, Rancocas Valley Regional High School teacher Alexandra Reiner in New Jersey, and 50-year-old Florida substitute teacher Angela Jean Stanton in Florida. Additionally, Texas teachers Meredith Null and Edna Longoria were arrested on similar charges.
As for why the number of these incidents has seemingly increased, studies suggest that smartphones are the primary reason for the spike in illicit relationships, as it allows teachers to communicate with the minors without supervision.
According to a report from the Texas Education Association, smartphones make easy for teachers to privately text and talk with students and also make it possible for teachers and students to share explicit images.
