Who is Heidi Hallstein? Former Hudson City teacher who had sex with minor at home pleads guilty
HUDSON, OHIO: A former high school chemistry teacher in Ohio has pleaded guilty to having sex with an underage student on Friday, February 19. Heidi Hallstein, 57, of Franklin Township, entered a written guilty plea for having sexual imposition and attempted unlawful contact with a minor. Portage County Common Pleas Court Judge Laurie Pittman then subsequently convicted her for both the charges Cleveland19 reported.
Her plea comes months after her arrest in August 2020 when investigators accused Hallstein of engaging in sexual activities with a minor student of Hudson High School, whom she taught chemistry in January 2017. The abuse took place at Hallstein’s home where she then lived on West College Avenue and not on school grounds, officials said.
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After her arrest, Hudson City School District Superintendent Phil Herman announced that Hallstein had resigned from her job and said the district would "initiate the surrender of Ms. Hallstein’s teaching license with the Ohio Department of Education."
Hallstein was working as a teacher in the Hudson City School District since 1995. '‘The charges stem from an alleged sexual encounter that took place off school property, in January 2017, with a former Hudson High School student who was a minor at the time. In order to protect the privacy of the student victim and the integrity of the investigation, we cannot share further details at this time," said Herman in his statement. Herman further added that the district had been working ‘diligently’ with city police on the case, since they were made aware of the allegations on August 4.
"The Hudson Police Department investigated these serious allegations, and then properly referred their investigation to the Portage County Sheriff’s Department, where the alleged crime had occurred. Schools must be a safe and protected place for students, and teachers are held to the highest standards," said Herman. "These allegations are criminal and a violation of the trust that our children, parents, and community place in adults as educators," she added.
Apart from being a school teacher, Hallstein is a certified martial arts instructor with over 30 years of experience who taught karate at a local martial arts studio in Kent, Ohio, as reported by martialpeace.com.
According to Record-Courier, she has been out of jail on a 10 percent of $30,000 bond since September. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.