Married Michigan teacher, 27, to serve over four years in prison for sex abuse; Kathryn Houghtaling pled ‘No Contest’ to having sex with two students, aged 16 and 17, multiple times – plying one with drugs ‘just months after his mother died’
Kathryn Houghtaling was sentenced Tuesday to 51 months to 180 months in prison after she pled no contest to six counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with two male students
The abuse took place between November 1 and December 31 2018, all of the incidents occurring outside of school hours and off school property
She was working as a special education teacher at Rochester High School, Michigan. One of the teens was a student in her class
She was also charged with providing a controlled substance to one of the boys
The married high school teacher had sex with the two students, aged 16 and 17, multiple times – at least one time in a car while other students watched, and another time in one of the victim’s homes
She was also charged with providing a controlled substance to one of the boys
Prosecutors said she also plied one of the students with Xanax, when the vulnerable teen was said to be struggling to cope with the death of his mother
The mother of one victim testified that Houghtaling sneaked into her house in the middle of the night to be with her son, and had given him alcohol
Prosecutors said the teacher had shown ‘no remorse’ for her abuse of power
Houghtaling wept in court as she apologized for her crimes
Kathryn Houghtaling [Photo: In court Tuesday], did not contest charges that she sexually assaulted the male students aged 16 and 17 when she was working as a special education and science teacher at Rochester High School
My ‘actions betrayed the duties and responsibilities I had as a teacher’: Houghtaling, [photo], was sentenced to serve 51 months to 180 months in prison after she pled no contest to six counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with the boys
Houghtaling, [photo] was also convicted of providing a controlled substance to one of the teen boys
Houghtaling, 27, was sentenced Tuesday to 51 months to 180 months in prison after she pled no contest to six counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with the boys.
She was also convicted of the charge of providing a controlled substance to one of the victims.
The abuse took place between November 1 and December 31 2018, with each of the incidents reportedly taking place outside of school hours and off school property.
One of the teens was a student in her class.
A complaint was made to the school district in January 2019, and Houghtaling was fired following an internal investigation and a criminal investigation was launched.
Kathryn Houghtaling [photo: L-R], had sex with the students on multiple occasions, at least one time in a car while other students watched, and another time in one of the victim’s homes
During her January 2019 court appearance, Kathryn Houghtaling at the time pled not guilty to the six charges, all felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
However, she struck a deal with the court this January, pleading no contest to the charges just before her trial was due to start.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such during sentencing.
It meant that rather than the maximum sentence of 15 years, while her defense was pushing for the lesser sentence of 51 months.
Blaming the victim: High school teacher Kathryn Houghtaling was accused of grooming her the teen boys she victimized, showed no remorse, even claiming that one of the boys had threatened to kill her, her husband and her dog and burn down her house
At the time Kathryn Houghtaling was a special education and science teacher at Rochester High School [photo]. The abuse took place between Nov 1 and Dec 31 2018, with each of the incidents taking place off campus, outside of school hours. One of the boys was a student in her class
The sentence came despite the pleas of prosecutors to come down heavily on the married woman, saying she had shown ‘no remorse’ for her abuse of power.
Instead, she continues to blame the victims, prosecutors said, even making new claims that one of the boys had threatened to kill her, her husband and her dog and to burn down her house.
The guardian of one of the boys told the court Tuesday how Houghtaling had preyed on the vulnerable student at a time when he was dealing with his mother’s death just months earlier.
In a victim impact statement, the guardian of one of the boys told the court Tuesday how the teacher preyed on the vulnerable student who was mourning the recent loss of his mother. Houghtaling not only groomed the student but had gained the trust of the family, he said
He choked back tears as he recounted one occasion when Houghtaling insisted she come to their house to cook a meal with the boy, and he later found his vulnerable nephew ‘higher than a kite.’
The mother of the second victim stated that the former teacher sneaked into her house in the middle of the night to be with her son, and had given him alcohol and unauthorized rides home. Give [ Houghtaling], ‘the maximum punishment,’ she urged.
Judge Lisa Asadoorian sentenced Houghtaling to 51 months to 180 months for the criminal sexual conduct charges and 51 months to 96 months for the drug charge, in line with the plea guidelines
Leave a Reply