Heather Hare Bryant H.S Arkansas teacher admits to having sex with a student, 20-30 times as the much loved educator now faces a minimum of ten years prison in a plea deal.
A former ‘much exalted’ Arkansas home economics teacher admitted to having sex with a male high school senior 20 to 30 times.
Heather Hare, 33, pleaded guilty in federal court to transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of unlawful sexual activity and now faces up to life in prison.
Hare had sex with the victim, a male student at Bryant High School, 20 to 30 times throughout the 2021-2022 school year, including on a class trip to Washington, DC.
Much loved adulated teacher
The educator first came to prominence with a viral farewell video from students and appeared on Good Morning America in 2020 where the ‘much loved’ teacher was celebrated after her course was being discountinued on account of the then 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 (since removed page) in 2020. ‘To see her crying it was awful. I said, ‘I have to do something for her.”
‘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 selfie video at the time.
Responded Hare at the 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.’
The married educator who has a five year old daughter went on to be featured on ABC7, in October 2022, when the little girl went viral for her Halloween costumes.
Hare and her husband prepared a dozen costumes and conducted photo shoots for their daughter before Halloween.
And then the allegations began
But it soon all went downhill, when less than a year later, Hare was indicted and charged with 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.
Hare surrendered herself in April 2023 after various TikTok and Snapchat posts were made alleging her involvement with a student, according to local reports.
She was arrested again in July after a second student came forward, leading to investigators seeking additional charges of first-degree sexual assault, the Bryant Police Department stated.
Investigators revealed Hare met the victim on his first day of his senior year and started one-on-one counseling sessions with him.
The 33-year-old teacher eventually gave the student her phone number and talked with him through Instagram and Snapchat.
She told the victim she had a dream of them having sex and gave him her home address in Conway, Arkansas. She lived at the home with her husband and young daughter.
Between the 2021 to 2022 school year, she had sex with the victim 20 to 30 times, including multiple times at her home in Conway, in her vehicle, her classroom and parking lots at Bryant High School.
She admitted to having sex with the victim between April 21 and April 24, 2022, when she supervised a field trip to Washington, DC, where the victim and three other female students attended.
Abuse of position of trust, power and authority
U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross said: ‘This former teacher took advantage of her position of trust and the vulnerability of a minor, using her role to entice and lure this minor into engaging in unlawful sexual activity.’
Ross added: ‘Our office will continue to seek significant penalties against any educational professional who sexually abuse their students.’
As part of a plea agreement, the charge of interstate/foreign travel for prostitution/sexual activity by coercion was dropped by prosecutors.
Hare will be sentenced at a later date, prosecutors have announced. They added she faces a minimum sentence of ten years and a maximum of life in prison.
Prosecutors recommend that she spend 13 years in prison, according to the plea agreement.
Not immediately clear is what led to the female educator abusing her position of authority, power and trust to subjugate her male victim.
