Stefanie Erin Kellenberger, Shelby, Ohio sixth grade teacher pleads guilty to grooming and sexually abusing former 13 year old student over 18 months while insisting that the relationship was not coerced.
A married Ohio mom and former sixth grade teacher has pleaded guilty to 21 sex charges involving a schoolgirl she began abusing when the child was just 13.
Stefanie Erin Kellenberger, a 40-year-old sixth-grade English instructor, sexually abused the girl at her home in Shelby over 18 months, according to Richland County Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson.
The educator pleaded guilty to all four counts of third-degree felony sexual battery and 17 counts of third-degree felony unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a court docket from Richland County Common Pleas Court shows.
Shelby teacher insists relationship with underage girl was not coerced
Kellenberger was presented with two options by prosecutors for her crimes: either serve 12 years flat prison time or 15 years with the possibility of judicial release after 10 years.
She opted for the second option when she pleaded guilty in court Friday, Richland Source reported.
The abuse is alleged to have begun in February 2020, when the victim was only 13 years old, with Kellenberger starting to have physical intimacies with the girl after her turning 14 and continuing until she turned 16, Richland County Assistant Prosecutor Bryan Dove told the judge.
‘The relationship continued until the age of consent,’ Dove said, according to the Mansfield News Journal. (The age of consent in Ohio is 16).
Kellenberger’s crimes continued until October 2021, prosecutors said.
Kellenberger’s lawyer, James Mayer III, told the judge, ‘Consent was never an issue in this case. It’s an age thing.’
Robinson asked the prosecutor, ‘So the state is saying there was no use of force?’
The ADA replied, ‘Correct, Your Honor. No use of force.’
Define cognitive dissonance? Can a chid ever give consent to an adult? Nevermind their teacher.
Kellenberger, who taught sixth-grade English and language arts at Shelby City Schools at the time of her crimes, was put on paid administrative leave in February 2024 after her abuse came to light.
She was indicted in September and resigned the next month.
A regard of Kellenberger’s Instagram account describes her as a ‘wife, mom, teacher.’
As part of Kellenberger’s plea deal, she will be subject to five years post-release control after prison and must register with the county sheriff as a Tier 3 sex offender, or the most serious, every 90 days for the rest of her life.
The former educator must also remain under electronic monitoring until her sentencing Oct. 6, have no contact with minors, avoid further criminal conduct and forever forfeit her teaching license.
Of note, the victim had recommended that the former teacher spend three years in jail, but the judge said that sentence was too short.
Bond was set at $250,000 cash or surety plus personal recognizance during Kellenberger’s arraignment Thursday. Kellenberger is set to return to court in October for sentencing.
