An Ohio teacher has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing one of her former students, beginning when the girl was just 13 years old.
Stefanie Erin Kellenberger, 40, admitted guilt on Friday to four counts of third-degree felony sexual battery and 17 counts of third-degree felony unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, the Mansfield News Journal reports.
The former Shelby Middle School English teacher now faces up to 15 years imprisonment at her sentencing on October 6 – just one day before her 41st birthday.
Prosecutors say she began grooming the victim when she was 13 years old, and the sexual contact started the following year, after the girl turned 14. It then continued ‘until the age of consent,’ which is 16 in the state, Bryan Dove, assistant prosecutor for Richland County claimed.
The crimes all occurred at Kellenberger’s home in Shelby from February 2020 through October 2021.
‘You had been a teacher. She had been a student,’ Richland County Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson told the former sixth-grade teacher.
‘But at the time these occurred, you were not her teacher and she was not your student.’
In court, Kellenberger’s attorney also argued that ‘consent was never an issue in this case’ and Dove noted that there was ‘no use of force’ involved.
Stefanie Erin Kellenberger, 40, a former English teacher at Shelby Middle School in Ohio, has pleaded guilty to four counts of third-degree felony sexual battery and 17 counts of third-degree felony unlawful sexual conduct with a minor
Kellenberger now faces up to 15 years imprisonment at her sentencing on October 6 – just one day before her 41st birthday
Kellenberger was placed on paid administrative leave from Shelby City Schools in February 2024, after Superintendent Michael Browning said he received a call from the Mansfield Police Department that ‘allegations were made’ against the teacher.
She was then officially indicted on the criminal charges in September 2024, and resigned from Shelby City Schools the following month.
As the case against her progressed, the victim in the case recommended Kellenberger spend three years behind bars.
But Judge Robinson said he did not support such a short sentence, and prosecutors came up with two different options – either she serve a 12-year flat prison sentence or 15 years with the possibility of judicial release after 10 years.
Kellenberger opted for the latter option, and Dove said the victim is now ‘relieved to not have to testify.
‘That’s why we entered into this agreement with the defendant,’ he explained.
Kellenberger will now be subject to fie years post-release control and must register with the county sheriff as a Tier 3 sex offender every 90 days for the rest of her life.
She also agreed to avoid all future contact with her victim and to forever forfeit her teaching license in exchange for the possibility of being released after 10 years of good behavior.
In the meantime, Kellenberger is to remain under electronic monitoring until her sentence. She may not have any contact with minors at the time and is to avoid any further criminal conduct.