Michigan teacher who had sex with teen students and gave them drugs sentenced to more than 4 years in prison
A former Michigan high school teacher has been sentenced to more than four years in prison after being charged with having sex with two teen students, one of whom she reportedly plied with drugs.
Twenty seven-year-old Kathryn Marie Houghtaling, a married special education teacher who worked at Rochester High School, pleaded no contest to having sex with the two students -- aged 16 and 17 during their December 2018 encounters -- before she was sentenced to 51 months behind bars, the Oakland Press reports.
Houghtaling pleaded no contest just two days before she was set to go to trial in late January. Without the plea deal, she would have faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted on six counts of third-degree criminal conduct and one count of delivery of a controlled substance, which came after she gave one of the teens Xanax and left him "higher than a kite."
During a victim impact statement at the former first-year teacher's sentencing on Tuesday, the boy's uncle noted how "she gave him drugs."
“To me, this is ridiculous — it’s absurd to do that," he told the court, adding how the teen was forced to transfer to another school to avoid being mocked by fellow students about his trysts with Houghtaling.
Meanwhile, the mother of the second victim accused Houghtaling of sneaking into her house, plying her son with alcohol and giving him rides home from school without telling her. She called for “maximum punishment” to be doled out to the former teacher, saying her son -- who cannot be named for legal reasons -- is now "withdrawn" and has lost confidence.
While none of the sexual encounters took place in school premises, Houghtaling allegedly had sex with the teens at an apartment, as well as in a car in full view of other students. Prosecutors revealed to WDIV how one of the teens was a student in her class.
Houghtaling, who was fired by Rochester Community Schools prior to her arraignment in early January, apologized for her actions in court.
“I have learned so much about myself and other people through this tough process,” she said. “I’ve learned to take full responsibility for my controllable actions and seek help for those that I cannot control.”
During her statement, Houghtaling urged that being incarcerated will further negatively impact her marriage.
“I understand that my actions have consequences that will affect me, my husband, my family, and friends,” she said, per C & G Newspapers. “Having that burden on me has been a punishment I could have never imagine and never want to experience again.”