A former Arkansas high school teacher has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for transporting a minor across state lines for unlawful sexual activity.
Heather Hare, 33, was initially indicted last August on charges of interstate travel for sexual activity by coercion and transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas. She agreed to plead guilty on the second charge, and the first one was dismissed.
“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,” US Attorney Jonathan D. 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.”
The US Attorney’s Office said that Hare taught family consumer science classes at Bryant High School in Saline County and met the victim, who was a senior, on the first day of the school year in 2021. She began one-on-one counseling sessions with the minor, and they eventually exchanged phone numbers.
Hare and the victim primarily communicated via Instagram and Snapchat. Later, she told the victim she dreamed about them having sex and gave them her home address.
“The minor victim and Hare engaged in sexual activity between 20 to 30 times throughout the 2021-2022 school term, including multiple times at her Conway residence, in her vehicle, and in her classroom and parking lots at Bryant High School,” the US Attorney’s Office said.
The interstate travel charges came in April 2022, when Hare was the sponsor and chaperone for a student trip to Washington, D.C., related to the classes she taught. Hare and the victim engaged in sexual activity during the trip.
United States District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky handed down the sentence earlier this week, also giving her a lifetime of supervised release after the 13 years are up.
Hare’s federal sentence will be served concurrently with a 20 year sentence she received last July after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual assault — which included two students at Bryant High School — in Saline County, KATV reported.
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[Featured image: Heather Hare/Saline County Sheriff’s Office]
