Stacy Walterbusch’s illicit contact with a 17-year-old male student came to light Wednesday as she pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree felony count of gross sexual imposition.
Stacy Walterbusch, left, goes over a bill of information with her attorney Rich Wallace during her appearance Wednesday in Logan County Common Pleas Court. (EXAMINER PHOTO | JOEL E. MAST)
The former Benjamin Logan High School math teacher admitted she had sexual contact with the student on June 28 at her Bellefontaine home.
Rather than go through the process of a grand jury, the 30-year-old teacher made a plea based on a bill of information during the appearance before Logan County Common Pleas Court Judge William T. Goslee.
Logan County Prosecutor Eric Stewart said there are no indications of any other illicit relationships.
Benjamin Logan Superintendent Dave Harmon said Walterbusch was a five-year employee who resigned July 7.
No allegations of the sexual contact had come to light prior to her resignation.
It wasn’t until Aug. 10 that a parent told school officials of rumors involving the former teacher and the student.
“As soon as we were aware of it, we called the (Logan County) sheriff’s office immediately,” Harmon said. “I had Sheriff Randy Dodds in my office that morning. I called the sheriff’s office while the parent was in the office.
“They (detectives) took it and ran with it.”
Detectives had very little contact with the suspect but she reportedly called a teacher’s union representative once detectives began trying to contact her.
The representative confronted her about the allegations and she confessed to the illicit activity.
Several months passed as the defendant and her attorney worked out a deal directly with the prosecutor’s office.
Walterbusch will be sentenced Jan. 11. She faces a maximum of 18 months in prison but state sentencing guidelines lean in favor of community control.
She will be classified as a Tier I sex offender which requires her to register her address for 15 years.