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Hilary Dattilo, an Ohio high school teacher, and volleyball coach, has been charged with sexual misconduct with a female student, according to authorities.
Dattilo pled not guilty to the charges, which included sexual battery and contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a child; a judge has now set her bond at $5,000 with the ability to post 10%.
She is scheduled to appear in court on February 8, with Judge Noah Powers.
Who Is Hilary Dattilo?
Dattilo was 30 years old at the time of her arrest and is a resident of Monroe, Ohio. She was previously a teacher and volleyball coach at Hamilton High School in Ohio, having started working at the school in late August. According to NBC 4, she served as both an assistant coach for the school’s varsity volleyball team and the head coach for the junior varsity team.
Since the charges, the Hamilton City School District has said that Dattilo was placed on administrative leave; Joni Copas, the school director of communications, gave the following statement to the Hamilton Journal News:
“As a result of an ongoing investigation conducted collaboratively with the Hamilton City Police Department, the Hamilton City School District has placed a teacher at Hamilton High School on administrative leave pending termination proceedings.”
Allegedly, Dattilo engaged in sexual encounters with the female student in off-campus encounters between Nov. 1 and Nov. 22, leading to the sexual battery charge, and between Oct. 1 and Dec. 18, leading to the delinquency charge.
Police said that they began investigating after the girl’s parents reported the incident to a staff member at the school. According to WLWT, Hamilton police Sgt. Brian Robinson gave the following statement:
“A mother of a student at Hamilton High School was concerned about a possible inappropriate relationship that a staff member was having with her daughter, so she notified the school administrators at Hamilton High School.”
Following Dattilo’s arraignment, Hamilton City Schools also released the following statement:
“Parents entrust their children to us everyday, which is something we take very seriously. The safety of children is always our first priority.
As a result of an ongoing investigation conducted collaboratively with the Hamilton City Police Department, the Hamilton City School District has placed a teacher at Hamilton High School on administrative leave pending termination proceedings. Simply put, we will not tolerate behavior that places our children in jeopardy.
Because this is a criminal case, we will respectfully defer questions to the police and prosecuting attorney’s office.”
In time, Dattilo turned herself into police custody; she later pled not guilty during her arraignment. Both her mother and husband were present at the arraignment.
What does Ohio law state?
According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, the charge of corruption of a minor can be applied to anyone over the age of 18 who has sexual relations with someone 13 to 16 years of age. Whether that charge is a felony or a misdemeanor depends on the age difference between the two partners.
The arrest is one of many over the past few years of teachers for having sexual relationships with their students. Other recent cases include Alyssia Marie Reddy, who was arrested in Maryland for crimes committed in New Jersey with a 16-year-old student, Samantha Fitzpatrick, who had been charged with child enticement and sexual assault with a 17-year-old and Ann Kuroki, who was a basketball coach that had been arrested for having a relationship with a male student.
