Ex-Windham school superintendent in prison as sexual battery appeal rolls on
A former Windham school superintendent has begun serving a 10-year sentence imposed in 2020 for sexual misconduct involving two teenage boys.
While Laura E. Amero spends her first month in prison, she has appealed the sentence to the Ohio Supreme Court.
The 40-year-old Amero was admitted to the Ohio Reformatory for Women on April 17, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. Portage County Common Pleas Court Judge Laurie J. Pittman sentenced her in February 2020.
More: Ex-Windham superintendent pleads guilty to sexual battery
Amero pleaded guilty to two counts of felony sexual battery and one count of first-degree misdemeanor sexual imposition in November 2019. Pittman sentenced her to five years each for the two felonies, to run consecutively to each other, the maximum allowed under state law. Pittman also determined that Amero is a Tier III sex offender, which will require her to register with the sheriff every 90 days for the rest of her life.
Pittman sentenced Amero to six months in jail for the misdemeanor, but that sentence will run concurrent to the felonies.
The sexual battery charges involved a then-16-year-old boy that Amero assaulted in early 2017. The boy was a Windham High School student, and Amero was principal at the school.
The misdemeanor charge, which had been amended down from felony sexual battery, involved another boy during the 2015-16 school year, when he turned 17. That boy was also a Windham High School student while Amero was principal.
An additional felony sexual battery charge and two counts of misdemeanor intimidation of a victim or witness were dismissed, also as part of the plea deal.
Amero was pregnant at the time of her sentencing and was due in March, so Pittman ordered a delay in incarceration until April 1, 2020. The baby was born March 5, 2020, according to court records.
Amero, however, appealed her sentence in March 202 to Ohio's 11th District Court of Appeals, and the court stayed her sentence while it was pending.
In the meantime, Amero was ordered to remain on house arrest, paying for electronic monitoring while out on bond.
The defense argued Amero should have been placed on probation because she confessed to law enforcement and had sought counseling. Her attorneys said she was receiving mental health treatment.
In March, the appellate court affirmed the Common Pleas judgement. Amero then filed a notice of appeal in late March with the Ohio Supreme Court. As of Monday, the state's Supreme Court has not announced whether it will hear her appeal.
The high court at the same time denied Amero's motion to continue the stay of her sentence.
Amero was hired in 2015 as principal of Windham Junior/Senior High School. Prior to that, she taught English in Mahoning County and was a curriculum supervisor for Mahoning County Educational Services.
Amero took over as superintendent in February 2019, and was suspended without pay when charges were filed in April following a Windham Police investigation. Amero resigned in June 2019.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ex-Windham superintendent in prison as sexual battery appeal rolls on
