Rebecca Sparrow, a 37-year-old former guidance counselor who was originally arrested and charged in 2016, when sentenced to two years in prison on Monday, January 28, after she pleaded guilty to having an inappropriate sexual relationship with the teenage student.
Sparrow, a mother-of-two who was a guidance counselor at Cuyahoga Falls High School, was ultimately charged with one count of sexual battery for having sex with a 17-year-old student from February to May 2016.
According to court records, Sparrow called her actions “perverse” and acknowledged her “betrayal and broken trust” as she faced Summit County Common Pleas Judge Amy Corrigall Jones.
Summit County Assistant Prosecutor Felicia Easter said that as a guidance counselor, Sparrow knew that the unidentified teen — who is now 20-years-old — had “ongoing issues at home prior to their sexual relationship, including his parents’ divorce, suicidal thoughts that followed and his ‘fragile’ mental state,” according to the New York Post.
In addition to her prison sentence, Sparrow has been classified as a Tier 3 sex offender, which requires her to register her address with sheriff’s officials every 90 days for the rest of her life.
However, Mike Callahan, an attorney for Sparrow, said that his client will apply for an early release from prison in “as little as six months.”
She was placed on paid administrative leave by the Cuyahoga Falls City School District in January 2-18 prior to her eventual resignation.
Sparrow is just one of many school officials to be arrested and charged for sex-related crimes in recent years.
