Michigan Ex-Teacher Sentenced to Prison for Sex with Students

A former teacher was sentenced to prison Tuesday after she had sex with two students and provided drugs to one of them in Pontiac, Michigan.

“Kathryn Houghtaling, 27, had pleaded no contest to six counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with two boys, ages 16 and 17, in a car and at the home of one of the victims,” according to the Detroit News.

“She also was charged with providing a controlled substance, Xanax, to one of the boys. She was fired in January 2019 after being charged with the offenses,” the article read.

In court Tuesday, a parent of one of the students said she never imagined that her son’s teacher would “violate him by initiating a sexual relationship with him.”

“This relationship included unapproved rides home, alcohol admittedly provided by Mrs. Houghtaling, sex in cars, and even Mrs. Houghtaling sneaking into my home in the middle of the night to be with my son,” she stated.

The former Rochester High School special education teacher told Judge Rae Lee Chabot she had “learned to take full responsibility for my actions and seek help for those that I can’t control.”

Judge Chabot sentenced Houghtaling to 51 to 180 months in the Michigan Department of Corrections on the criminal sexual conduct counts, and an additional 51 to 96 months for delivery of a controlled substance to a minor, according to WXYZ.

Prior to her sentencing, Houghtaling read a letter to the judge that said she understood her actions have consequences that would affect her entire family.

She continued:

Having that burden on me has been punishment I could have never imagined and never want to experience again. I want to apologize to all the parties involved, specifically to my students. I know that my actions betrayed the duty and responsibility I had to them as a teacher. I sincerely never intended for my relationship with them to cause them trauma.

The thought of being incarcerated is a scary one. It will effect my marriage, my family dynamic, the financial situation for my husband, and my new career.

“I certainly can’t put myself in your shoes, but I certainly respect whatever decision you make,” Houghtaling stated.

When she finished, Judge Chabot said it was a difficult lesson for everyone involved.

“And it’s difficult for me to judge someone else’s behavior in this way,” she explained, adding, “But I must know that the law is very clear in this area, and it applies to men and women exactly the same.”