A St. Xavier High School staffer who groomed multiple students and admitted to having sex with a 17-year-old student, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
As reported by Cincinnati.com, On Tuesday, June 10, Emily Nutley was handed the sentence by Judge Jennifer Branch in the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.
Nutley, 43, who headed a program that helped students struggling with academics, read out a letter in court saying her actions resulted in her losing her husband, family, friends and reputation. She also said she caused her children harm and embarrassment but Judge Branch believed she didn't express remorse for the harm she caused the teenager.
"I was looking for you to say that you acknowledge the harm that you caused this young man... You pretty much ruined the rest of his high school career," Branch said. "I didn't see it. I didn't hear it."
Nutley's attorney, Joe Suhre, had argued for a sentence of probation − something that therapists who have treated Nutley believed was appropriate.
Nutley Initiated the Relationship with the Teen, Groomed Him and Took Advantage of 'An Already Vulnerable Kid'
Nutley, the high school's director of academic services, met the teen in 2023 through the program at the high school's learning center. Prosecutors said Nutley, who at the time was married and has three children, was the aggressor in the relationship with the 17-year-old.
She would text him, acting as his counselor and as someone who cared about his mental health, his sports interests and his grades. She "began to groom him," the prosecutor said in court, taking advantage "of an already vulnerable kid."
'Would be Wild...That When the Whole School is at Mass, I Give You the Best (Expletive) of Your Life in My Office'
The texts were constant, according to prosecutors. Nutley eventually kissed him and began sending him nude photos of herself. She sent at least nine explicit photos.
In a text message, Nutley sent the boy the afternoon of Nov. 30, 2023, she said: "What would be wild is that when the whole school is at Mass, I give you the best (expletive) of your life in my office."
The sexual relationship took place between November and December of 2023. In addition to Nutley's office at the learning center, the sexual acts also took place at a Butler County park, according to court documents.
She would buy the teen food, the documents say, and paid him an "allowance" of $100 a month. She once sent him answers to a test prior to him taking it.
Teen Wanted to End the Relationship but Nutley was Reluctant to Let Him Go
By March 2024, the teen apparently wanted the relationship to end. That month, he asked to be released from the learning center's help. Nutley wanted him to be allowed to stay, but another school official decided to release the teen "against Nutley's wishes," court documents say.
Soon after, the teen's grades dropped, and he was failing three classes. By October 2024, one teacher noted that the teen was not the same person as the previous school year.
Rumors that Nutley was having sex with a student reached St. Xavier's principal. And on Oct. 8, 2024, the teen met with school administrators and reported multiple sexual encounters with Nutley. Prosecutors say there were at least four encounters.
Nutley was fired after an internal investigation, and she was ultimately charged with sexual battery. She pleaded guilty in April of this year to two counts of sexual battery.
