A former high school teacher who admitted to having sex with a student up to 30 times, including once while on a field trip to Washington, DC, will spend 13 years in jail. Heather Hare, 33, taught family and consumer science at Little Rock, Arkansas's Bryant High School. She had a relationship with the student between August 2021 and April 2022.
Investigators found that Hare had sex with the student in her house, car, and even in class. At the time, the student was a senior. When she first met the teen, she was tasked with providing him with one-on-one counseling. Hare was first arrested in April of last year.
Sexual Predator
Hare at one point told the teen that she had fantasies about them having sex at her house, where she lived with her husband and small daughter.
Hare and the teen started developing a friendship through messaging on Snapchat and Instagram. They had sex in April 2022 while visiting the country's capital as part of a school trip.
Hare was taken into custody on allegations of first-degree sexual assault precisely a year later.
Before her arrest, Hare was cherished by her students. They even recorded a farewell video for her when her class was temporarily halted during the pandemic.
"It hurt me to see her so upset because she's so helpful and always so nice," student Bella Watkins told Good Morning America in 2020. "To see her crying it was awful. I said, 'I have to do something for her.'"
Her 12 students, including graduating seniors, shared selfie footage as they said goodbye to Hare when the course she taught was discontinued during the pandemic.
"Hi Ms. Hare, I just want to say thank you for literally everything you did for me this year. You helped me overcome so much and you helped me through so many problems," a student said in the tearful video.
Loving Teacher but Sex Addict
Hare told the outlet at that time: "It breaks my heart because so many kiddos look for a break in their day and they enjoy coming to my class. The last unit was sewing. We had so many fun projects [planned] and we didn't get to do those."
Hare is married and has a five-year-old daughter. Her family was also featured on local outlet ABC7 in October 2022 when her daughter went viral for her Halloween costumes.
Hare and her husband prepared a dozen costumes and conducted photo shoots for their daughter before Halloween.
Hare pleaded guilty to 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 federal court.
In an Arkansas court, Hare separately pleaded guilty to two charges of first-degree sexual assault.
"Teachers who have sex with their minor students should take note of today's sentence for Ms. Hare which reflects the consequences of abusing her position of trust and taking advantage of the vulnerability of this minor to repeatedly engage in unlawful sexual activity," said US Attorney Jonathan Ross said.
"Our office will continue to hold accountable those who are in a position of trust that target children and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law, as evidenced by Judge Rudofsky sentencing Ms. Hare to 13 years in federal prison."
