Layher's hearing conducted by phone

Friday, January 27, 2012

By Rusty Murry/Nevada Daily Mail

Scheduling conflicts with attorneys representing the State of Missouri and defendant Lori Layher changed a scheduled face-to-face pre-conference hearing into a telephone conference in the Vernon County Courthouse on Thursday, Jan. 26.

During the conference special prosecutor Julie Tolle, 28th Circuit Associate Judge Neal Quitno and an attorney from the Wyrsch Hobbs Mirakian Law Firm of Kansas City, Mo., agreed to schedule a preliminary hearing in the State of Missouri vs. Lori Layher criminal case for Feb. 9, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. in the Vernon County Courthouse.

The preliminary hearing will be conducted to determine if there is enough evidence to bind the case over to the Circuit Court. Layher, 35, of Moundville was charged in November 2011 with four class D felony counts of sexual contact with a student on public school property, one class C felony count of second-degree statutory rape and a one class C felony of second-degree statutory sodomy.

Layher was arrested on Nov. 7 and booked into the Vernon County Jail and posted a $100,000 surety bond later that day. She was arraigned in the 28th Circuit Court of Vernon County before Associate Judge Neal Quitno on Dec. 12, 2011.

The first allegations against Layher were made more than 20 months ago, but efforts to extract audio or video evidence from cell phones delayed the charges. Court documents state one of the victims said he received text messages from Layher in which she would "talk dirty" and that Layher had sent him suggestive pictures. There has been no mention of any such evidence in available court documents. The allegations against Layher are based on interviews with the victims conducted by Vernon County Sheriff's Office deputies.

Court documents state sexual activity between Layher and two male victims took place over a considerable time frame and at several locations including Layher's home, Bushwhacker Lake and Layher's office at the Bronaugh High School.

Conviction of a class C felony can net a sentence of one to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections or up to one year in the county jail and/or a fine of up to $5,000 on each count. Punishment for a class D felony is one to four years in prison or up to one year in the county jail and/or a fine of up to $5,000. Layher remains free on bond.

Comments

View 4 comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

I tend to agree with bewise. I would say this young lady did something that upset the boys so they made up this story. Not to say this type of thing doesn't happen but I don't think it did in this case. Where is the evidence? You can bet your paycheck that if they actually had the evidence they would say so. Before you say the boys wouldn't lie, just last week one of the towns up by KC was on high alert looking for someone that tried to pick up a young boy on his way to school. Kid gave a great discription and everything. Turns out he made the whole thing up. Something to think about. I worry that we are so quick to condemn this women when no proof is presented. Even if it is found to be false she will always have this black mark against her. How fair is that?

-- Posted by thoth2011 on Fri, Jan 27, 2012, at 11:39 PM
very well said thoth.

-- Posted by bewise on Sat, Jan 28, 2012, at 8:51 AM
I agree thoth, i have known this lady since we were kids. I dont think she would do this. I refuse to think she is guilty until i see some proof. Boys will be boys and this wouldn't be the first time teenage boys bragged to their friends about having sex with a woman. Dont get me wrong it's horrible when adults take advantage of kids when it happens. But I refuse to believe that is the case here. Keep fighting Lori, we hope you get your name cleared. I'm proud of Matt for believing in you and sticking by your side through all of this.

-- Posted by Gordongekko on Tue, Jan 31, 2012, at 8:31 AM
The sad thing is there will come a time when people won't want to become teachers for fear of something like this happening.

-- Posted by thoth2011 on Tue, Jan 31, 2012, at 4:49 PM

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration:

If you already have an account, follow this link to login
Otherwise, follow this link to register