Bryant PD Heather Hare.
Heather Hare is a former Conway, Arkansas, high school home economics teacher who is accused of having sex with a juvenile victim during a field trip to Washington D.C., as well as in her classroom and a parking lot at Bryant High School.
According to a news release from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Jonathan D. Ross, Hare, 33, has now admitted to the accusations. She has pleaded guilty to “transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of unlawful sexual activity.”
She is facing between 10 years and life in prison, according to the January 22 news release.
According to The New York Post, Hare was a big news story in 2020 “when she was surprised on ‘Good Morning America’ by students bidding her goodbye as her home economics class was discontinued for distance learning during the pandemic.” Hare is a married mother, The Post reported.
Here’s what you need to know:
Prosecutors Say Heather Hare Communicated With a High School Senior Via Snapchat & Instagram & Had Sex With Him 20 to 30 Times
Married female Arkansas home economics teacher Heather Hare, who rose to fame with 2020 viral video, admits to having sex with male high school senior 20 to 30 times – including on a class trip to Washington DC – and now faces up to life in prison t.co/9yu23kju3V
According to the release, the investigation “into Hare revealed that Hare taught Family Consumer Science classes at Bryant High School and met the minor victim on his first day of his senior year. Hare began one-on-one counseling sessions with the minor victim, eventually giving him her personal phone number and primarily communicating with him through Instagram and Snapchat.”
Prosecutors say Hare “later told the minor victim that she had a dream of them having sex and gave him her home address in Conway. The minor victim and Hare had sex approximately 20 to 30 times throughout the 2021-2022 school term, including multiple times at her Conway residence, in her vehicle, and in her classroom and parking lots at Bryant High School.”
“This former teacher took advantage of her position of trust and the vulnerability of a minor, using her role to entice and lure this minor into engaging in unlawful sexual activity,” Ross said. “Our office will continue to seek significant penalties against any educational professional who sexually abuse their students.”
Heather Hare Is Also Accused of Engaging in Sexual Activity With the Student While Chaperoning a Field Trip
Married teacher who went viral when adoring class surprised her on ‘GMA’ pleads guilty to sex with student up to 30 times t.co/bQMr6bw2WV
The release also accuses Hare of having sex with the student while chaperoning him on a field trip.
“Between April 21 and April 24, 2022, Hare was the sponsor and chaperone for a field trip to Washington, D.C., as part of an extracurricular activity related to the Family Consumer Science courses Hare taught,” the release says.
“During the field trip, which included four students, of which the minor victim was the only male student, Hare and the minor victim engaged in the unlawful sexual activity to which she pleaded guilty.”
According to the New York Post, prosecutors said in court that the teacher and student were on “a national LifeSmarts competition tied to her Family Consumer Sciences course.”
“J.R. advised they planned to have sex on the trip and not have to worry about being caught,” Assistant US Attorney John Ray White said in court, according to The Post. “Hare did come to his hotel room and the two engaged in sex.”
The news release says that Hare “was indicted on August 1, 2023, and charged with one count of interstate/foreign travel for prostitution/sexual activity by coercion and one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. In exchange for her guilty plea, the remaining charge was dismissed.”
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