Layher pleads not guilty in Wednesday court appearance

Former Bronaugh educator Lori Layher and her Kansas City, Mo., attorney Christopher Mirakian appeared in the Vernon County courtroom of Associate Judge Neal Quitno on Thursday, for a preliminary hearing on the six felony counts filed against Layher in November 2011.

During the hearing, Layher and Mirakian acknowledged her rights related to a waiver of the preliminary hearing as given by Quitno. after which Layher was bound over for arraignment in the circuit court of Presiding Judge James R. Bickel.

The defendant and her attorney, and special prosecutor Julie Tolle, an assistant state attorney general, agreed to an immediate arraignment and waited for the proper paperwork to be completed before appearing before Bickel.

Mirakian waived a formal reading of those six felony counts and entered a plea of "not guilty." A preliminary conference before Bickel was set for March 13. Before ending the proceeding, Tolle told the court that the "prosecutor's felony information does not list witnesses," but had provided discovery to the defense; and a list of witnesses would be provided today.

Layher, 35, of Moundville was charged in November by Tolle 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. The special prosecutor was appointed when Vernon County Prosecutor Lynn M. Ewing III recused himself from the case because of a possible conflict of interest.

The original allegations against Layher were made nearly two years ago, but investigator's efforts to get evidence from cell phones delayed the filing of charges. Court records state one of the victims said he received text messages from Layher in which she would "talk dirty" and that she had sent him suggestive pictures. Evidence recovered from cell phones is not mentioned in any of the court documents. Interviews with the victims by Vernon County sheriff's deputies are the basis for the charges, according to court records.

Documents allege that sexual activity between Layher and the victims took place over a sustained period of time and at several locations in Vernon County including Layher's home, Bushwhacker Lake and Layher's office at Bronaugh High School.

Conviction of a class C felony could mean 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 a $100,000 bond.