MasonBuzz.com

Former Mason teacher Stacy Schuler will have to wait a few more days to see if a Warren County judge will grant her petition for early release from prison.

A hearing on the motion scheduled for Friday has been pushed back to 11 a.m. Tuesday in Warren County Common Pleas Court.

Schuler, 34, was convicted last October on 16 felony counts of sexual battery and three misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to minors.  The encounters occurred in 2010 at her Springboro home.

• Schuler convicted of sex crimes
  
• Photos: Stacy Schuler trial

Schuler’s attorney argued she suffered from a host of medical and psychological problems exacerbated by her use of Zoloft and copious amounts of alcohol.

Warren County Common Pleas Judge Robert Peeler said he believes Schuler suffers from mental health and substance abuse issues, but sentenced her to four years, with the possibility of early release after serving only six months.

Schuler’s six months were up April 27, but her attorney, Charlie H. Rittgers, didn’t apply for early release until May 31.

“When somebody requests early release, they have one shot at it.  If the court denies it, the person has to serve out their sentence,” he explained.

Peeler held an in-chambers pre-trial hearing on the petition in July and ordered additional psychological testing before he would consider Schuler’s request for early release.

Rittgers said his client is a model prisoner at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.

The former health and physical education teacher leads yoga and general education classes for her fellow prisoners, is undergoing mental health treatment for bipolar disorder and participates in a group for sex offenders.

Schuler and 62 other people wrote letters that Schuler’s attorney filed in support of her motion for judicial release in July.

Mark Krumbein, a Cincinnati attorney who’s been following the case, said that it’s uncommon for a judge to indicate when a person would be eligible for judicial release.

“You usually can’t count on it unless a judge gives you some indication.  It sounds like he at least has an open mind to that,” he said.  “In Stacy Schuler’s case, she’s got a lot of good mitigating circumstances in her life that would be big factors for Judge Peeler.”

However, he said that a similar case out of Warren County, that of Kings Junior High School teacher Lisa Karabinus, might set a precedent on what a judge considers sufficient penalty.

Karabinus, who was convicted in 2000 of having sexual relations with a 13-year-old student and sentenced to four years, was also eligible for release after six months.  She served two years of that sentence.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said he would continue to fight to keep Schuler locked up.

“To release her after only one year demeans the seriousness of the offenses, and would send a bad message to others who might commit similar offenses,” he said.  “Ms. Schuler was already given a break when she was sentenced to only four years.  The public interest is best served by requiring her to fully serve the sentence that was imposed.”

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Tags: Tags: charlie h. rittgers, convicted, early release, judge robert peeler, judicial release, lisa karabinus, mark krumbein, mason, mason high school, sex, sex crimes, stacy schuler, students, warren county common pleas court

Janice Morse reports

Former Mason High School teacher Stacy Schuler is asking a judge to grant early release from her four-year prison term for having sex with five male students – and she made a public statement for the first time.

“I would like to begin by saying how ashamed I am of my actions and behaviors that led to my incarceration,” Schuler wrote in a five-page letter to Judge Robert Peeler.

He’s the Warren County judge who convicted Schuler of 19 charges in October: 16 felony counts of sexual battery plus three misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to minors. The incidents happened in the fall of 2010 at her Springboro home.

After being formally accused of the offenses, Schuler resigned in February 2011, ending a 10-year career with Mason schools. She had taught physical education and health, and was an athletic trainer.

“The situations I allowed myself to become involved with are inexcusable and could have been prevented if I had only been willing to ask for help,” she wrote, describing a downward spiral of depression, sleep deprivation and self-medication that clouded her judgment. “I acknowledge that through my wrong mindedness I have brought hurt and pain to numerous individuals who trusted me and had faith in me.”

Schuler, 34, also told Peeler that she has “taken every opportunity to heal and work on becoming a healthier individual as well as helping the other women” at the state prison where she is housed, the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Mansfield. She teaches yoga and general education classes for her fellow prisoners, is undergoing mental health treatment for bipolar disorder and participates in a group for sex offenders.

Schuler and 62 other people wrote letters that Schuler’s attorney, Charles H. Rittgers, filed in support of her motion for judicial release Thursday. “The letters go on and on…even while incarcerated, Stacy continues to help others,” Rittgers wrote.

“It is not (her) intention to in any way minimize, excuse or deny the inappropriate actions which ultimately placed her in the position she now occupies,” Rittgers wrote. Rather, he said, the intent is to demonstrate that “further imposition of (her) prison term is not required to adequately punish (her) or protect the public.”

But Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said he fight to keep Schuler locked up.

“She has only been in prison since the end of October,” he said. “In my opinion, that is not sufficient time given the seriousness of the offenses for which she was convicted.”

Schuler was eligible for early release a month ago, after she finished serving six months in prison.

Fornshell said he hasn’t seen people in other jurisdictions or in Warren County be freed so quickly after such offenses. “It just doesn’t happen,” he said, “and it shouldn’t happen in this case.”

A hearing on Schuler’s motion is set for July 12.

Adam Kiefaber contributed to this story.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: alcohol, attorney, charlie h. rittgers, david fornshell, early release, eligible, judge robert peeler, judicial release, mark krumbein, mason, mason high school, sex, sex case, stacy schuler, teacher, warren county, warren county prosecutor

A Warren County jury indicted a Mason woman Friday on charges she had sex with a minor and provided the teen with alcohol.

Jennifer J. Alghzawi, 38, faces charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a third-degree felony, and a first-degree misdemeanor count involving underage persons.

Officials say Alghzawi and the teen, who is 15, had sexual conduct in June 2011 and that she allowed the teen to consume alcohol in her home on West Line Drive.

Court records show she posted a $30,000 bond on March 12 and informed the court she had changed her address on March 30.

If found guilty on both counts, Alghzawi faces more than five years in prison.

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Tags: Tags: crime, grand jury, indictment, jennifer alghzawi, mason, sex, teen, warren county, west line drive

A former Mason High School teacher who had sex with five students and provided them with alcohol is eligible for early release from prison next week.

Stacy Schuler, 34, was convicted in October on 16 felony counts of sexual battery and three misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to minors.

A Warren County judge sentenced the former physical education teacher to four years in prison, but said she would be eligible for release after serving six months.   Her six months are up on Friday.

Schuler’s attorney, Charles H. Rittgers, said he would have to file a motion for her release, but has not yet made a decision on if or  when he would file.

• Photos: Stacy Schuler trial

The five students, who were all about 17 at the time, testified at Schuler’s four-day bench trial that they had sexual intercourse with Schuler at her Springboro home and that she initiated much of the contact.

Several of the teens said that Schuler was drinking alcohol at the time of the incidents and that she made them vodka smoothies and served them beer and peach wine.

Schuler pleaded not guilty and Judge Robert Peeler allowed her to enter an alternate plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.  The judge rejected her insanity plea, but said at the sentencing that he believes Schuler suffers from psychological and substance-abuse issues.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said if Rittgers files the motion for early release, he would oppose it.

“Ms. Schuler was convicted of 16 felonies, and additional misdemeanors.  The court sentenced her to four years in prison, and under no circumstances should she (be) released after serving only six months,” he said.

Mark Krumbein, a Cincinnati attorney who’s been following the case, said that attorneys must take a number of factors into consideration before filing motions for early release to ensure a motion is successful.

If a judge denies a motion, the offender may have to serve out the remainder of their sentence, he said.

“It is really difficult and you have to make your best educated guess,” said Krumbein of when to file for early release.   ”In Stacy Schuler’s case, she’s got a lot of good mitigating circumstances in her life that would be big factors for Judge Peeler.”

However, he said that a similar case out of Warren County, that of Kings Junior High School teacher Lisa Karabinus, might set a precedent on what a judge considers sufficient penalty.

Karabinus, who was convicted in 2000 of having sexual relations with a 13-year-old student and sentenced to four years, was also eligible for release after six months.  She served two years of that sentence.

That Schuler’s case has attracted national media attention might also play a role in when her attorney might request early release, said Krumbein.

“Whenever an attorney has a high-profile case, you have to wait until the media attention dies down and the public interest is waning,” he said.  “The timing is better and better for Stacy Schuler as it becomes more of an unpleasant memory.”

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Tags: Tags: alcohol, attorney, charlie h. rittgers, david fornshell, early release, eligible, judge robert peeler, judicial release, mark krumbein, mason, mason high school, sex, sex case, stacy schuler, teacher, warren county, warren county prosecutor

MasonBuzz will be tweeting updates from the trial. Follow @Mason on Twitter for trial updates.

The trial of a Mason High School teacher accused of having sex with five students and providing them with alcohol resumes in its second day this morning.

• View photos of Schuler’s arrest and bond hearing

The Enquirer’s Paul McKibben has details from the trial’s opening day on Monday.

Stacy Schuler is not guilty of having sex with five Mason High School students because medical and psychological issues prevented her from knowing what she was doing, her attorney argued Monday in Warren County Common Pleas Court.

(more…)

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: abuse, alcohol, boys, mason, mason high school, sex, sex case, stacy schuler, teens, warren county common pleas

An ex-Mason High School physical education teacher now says she was “insane” at the time of alleged sex and alcohol crimes involving five teen boys, reports the Enquirer’s Janice Morse.

Stacy Schuler, who faces 19 charges, changed her plea from “not guilty” to “not guilty by reason of insanity.”

• View photos of Schuler’s arrest and bond hearing

Morse has more details about the latest development:

The change in plea, filed in a one-line document Monday, left Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell scratching his head Tuesday.

“It’s certainly an interesting development,” Fornshell said, noting Schuler previously denied the incidents happened and now, in essence, is admitting they occurred but says she should not be held legally responsible.

Schuler’s lawyer, Charlie H. Rittgers, declined to discuss why he changed the plea on behalf of Schuler, 33, of Springboro. The so-called insanity defense is highly unusual and rarely succeeds, experts say, although there’s typically some basis for it when it is attempted.

“Generally, when I’ve seen these pleas, there’s something behind this – it tells me something came up that’s cause for concern,” said Akron lawyer Carmen Roberto, past president of the Ohio State Bar Association. During his 38-year law career, Roberto estimated he had seen fewer than 10 such pleas amid thousands of cases as both a defense lawyer and prosecutor.

Because the defendant is admitting the offense occurred in an insanity plea, “you start off a little bit behind the eight-ball,” making the case difficult to win, Roberto said.

As of 2002, only about 2 percent of all suspects pursued an insanity defense — and only about one-third of them secure an acquittal for mental-health reasons, Rita J. Simon, a professor of public affairs and law at American University in Washington, D.C., told the Enquirer previously.

Under Ohio law, Rittgers must show “by a preponderance (majority) of the evidence” that his client suffered a mental problem that blocked her ability to understand right versus wrong.

By filing the insanity plea, Rittgers opened the door for Schuler to possibly undergo three separate mental evaluations. The defense, prosecutor and judge may each request a separate one.

Attorney Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a Sacramento-based organization that advocates “swift and certain punishment” of convicted criminals, said “most people are skeptical and reasonably so,” when they hear of an insanity plea being filed. The insanity plea may be a “last-ditch argument” by a desperate defendant, he said.

But Simon has said that insanity pleas tend to draw a lot of attention, leading to a misperception that they are more common than they actually are.

Fornshell said the case is his first involving an insanity plea since he was appointed county prosecutor in February. He said Judge Robert Peeler could take some action related to the plea when the case heads to its next hearing July 21 in Common Pleas Court in Lebanon.

Schuler, who resigned from her job, is set for trial Aug. 8. She’s accused of 16 counts of sexual battery, which allege she had sexual contact with boys, plus three counts of providing alcohol to minors. The sex charges carry up to five years in prison if she’s convicted; each alcohol charge is punishable by six months in jail.

Authorities allege the incidents happened between August and December last year.

Schuler was released in February from the Warren County Jail on her promise to appear in court. Schuler’s location is being electronically monitored, officials said.

Posted in: Crime, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: abuse, alcohol, boys, mason, mason high school, sex, sex case, stacy schuler, teens, warren county common pleas