Former educator pleads guilty to lesser charges
A former Bronaugh school counselor facing six felony charges for allegedly having sexual contact with two students pleaded guilty Friday after four counts were dropped and two others were reduced to misdemeanors.
Lori Layher, 36, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree assault, both Class A misdemeanors. A plea agreement reached by the prosecution and defense attorney Christopher Mirakian allowed Layher to plead guilty to the lesser charges rather than face an Aug. 26 trial.
Layher had been free on bond since her November 2011 arrest on four counts of having sexual contact with a student on public school property, one count of second-degree statutory rape and one count of second-degree statutory sodomy. The rape and sodomy charges are Class C felonies and the sexual contact charge is a Class D felony.
Had Layer been convicted of the more serious felonies, she could have faced a maximum 30 years in prison, a $20,00 fine or both prison and a fine.
Instead, Judge James R. Bickel sentenced Layher to a year in the county jail on each count -- the sentences to run concurrent -- then suspended the jail time and placed Layher on supervised probation for two years. She was ordered to pay court costs and contribute to the crime victims' fund.
Layher also had to surrender her teaching certification to the state and agree to never teach again.
A special prosecutor, Julie Tolle, an assistant state attorney general, 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 came almost three years ago, but efforts to retrieve evidence from cell phones delayed the filing of charges. Court records state one victim said he received text messages from Layher in which she would "talk dirty" and contained suggestive pictures.
Evidence recovered from cell phones was not mentioned in any of the court documents. Interviews with the victims by Vernon County sheriff's deputies were the basis for charges, according to court records.
Documents allege that sexual activity between Layher and two male students took place over a lengthy period of time and at several locations in Vernon County including Layher's home, Bushwhacker Lake and Layher's office at Bronaugh High School.