Former local superintendent, convicted of sex crimes years ago, sent to prison
WINDHAM, Ohio (WJW) – A disgraced former local school superintendent, who was convicted more than four years ago of sex crimes against two students, is finally behind the walls of a state prison.
Attorneys for 40-year-old Laura Amero, the former superintendent of the Windham Village Schools, had fought for years over the strenuous objection of court officials in Portage County to allow her to remain free on bond as they appealed her conviction.
The case began to unfold in 2019, when Windham police were contacted by a concerned parent and learned that in Amero’s previous job as principal of Windham High School in 2017, she pursued illegal sexual relationships with two 16-year-old students.
A police officer then recorded a conversation with Amero, when he questioned her about an intimate video of her that was being passed around by students.
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On the tape, the officer said, “In the last three days, it has come up and there supposedly is a video.”
“That’s what I heard too,” she responded.
“If there is and it is you, you’re better off to get in front of it than you are to…” the officer said.
“I heard there was a video too and that he showed to people on the basketball team,” Amero said.
During the recorded conversation in 2019, Amero initially claimed she was not the woman shown in the video and denied any wrongdoing.
But the officer advised her there was ample evidence of her illegal relationship with one of the 16-year-old boys on social media and in text messages.
“You sent him some pictures and he sent some back and that eventually wound up with you calling him down to the office and [deleted],” the officer said. “I think it probably happened, I can tell by your eyes and the way you’re talking to me, and it was a moment of weakness. I’m sure.”
Two days later, Amero admitted that the allegation about the sexual encounter with the student in her office was true.
“I just need it to go away, so if I need to resign at the end of the year, I’ll (deleted) resign. I will get out. It was a weak moment, it was stupid,” she said.
“It’s a mandatory reporting thing, just like we have at the school,” the officer responded.
“I’m not a predator, I’m not,” Amero said.
When confronted with all of the evidence, Amero decided to plead guilty in November 2019 to charges of sexual battery and sexual imposition, for having sex with the 16-year-old boy and trying to have sex with another student.
Before Amero was sentenced in February 2020, she told the court, “I never imagined I would hurt my kids, but I did. I allowed lines to be crossed that should have never been crossed.”
Amero, who was pregnant at the time, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was notified that upon her release, she would be classified a Tier III sex offender for life, requiring in-person verification every 90 days.
On that day, Amero said, “I hope that one day these families will forgive me and understand that I truly never, ever wanted to hurt their children. I am so sorry and I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart to these victims and their families.”
But instead of going to prison, Amero and her lawyers fought to allow her to remain free on bond, after she filed an appeal claiming that the 10-year sentence was too harsh.
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The 11th District Court of Appeals rejected her appeal on March 18, 2024, finding that Amero abused her power as an authority figure and created life-long trauma for the victims.
On April 17, 2024, the now-40-year-old Amero was finally sent to the Ohio Reformatory for Women at Marysville.
However, that is not the final chapter in the story, because Amero has filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court.
She asked the court to stay her sentence, continue her $350,000 bond and keep her on electronic monitoring until the appeal could be heard, but the court denied that request.
State prison records indicate that Amero will not be up for parole until March 2034, some 17 years after the crimes she committed at Windham High School. When she is released from prison as a Tier III sex offender, she can never work in any field of education.
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