BUCYRUS — A Crestline teacher appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Thursday to plead guilty to amended charges.
Cory Forshaw, 50, a former fourth grade teacher at Crestline Exempted Village Schools was originally indicted on one count of sexual battery, a third-degree felony punishable with up to three years in prison. He is represented by Mansfield attorney James Mayer.
The victim was a senior at Crestline High School who was taking college courses but not yet graduated. The two met via the internet. Even though the victim was not Forshaw’s student, he was a student at the same school where Forshaw taught.
After months of negotiation between the state, the defense and the court, the charge was amended from sexual battery to one count of assault, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable with up to six months in jail. A consequence of the assault charge would be the suspension of Forshaw’s teaching license in the state of Ohio.
Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold put the specifics of the case into perspective. Leuthold noted that since the victim is legally an adult, if Forshaw had not been a teacher, the relationship would have not been a crime.
“While this would not normally be a crime, the Ohio statute says that the burden of knowing whether the person with whom the teacher is engaged with is a student or not is on the teacher,” Leuthold said. “The criminal liability is on the teacher. The teacher can’t say they didn’t know they were in a relationship with a student.”
Before pronouncing sentence on Forshaw, Leuthold allowed both the state and the defense an opportunity to speak.
Crawford County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler told the court, “The victim feels the sentence is fair and just. The victim wants to avoid the embarrassment of a trial and having to relive the experience.”
“We are grateful for the negotiation and feel it is a just resolution on a complicated case,” defense attorney Mayer said.
“This is an extremely strange case. If this was a child, you’d be looking at a lengthy prison sentence,” Leuthold told Forshaw. “The burden is on you as a teacher because you have impact on students whether good or bad. It’s a fair burden. You should have taken a step back to make sure this adult was not still in fact a student.
“You failed your duty,” Leuthold continued. “That’s why there’s a strict liability statute for teachers. You didn’t take the extra step and you’re going to pay for that. You’re going to jail. You will have an assault on your record for the rest of your life. As a consequence of this assault, you will never be able to teach in Ohio again. However, sending you to prison and labeling you a sex offender is not appropriate in this case.”
Leuthold sentenced Forshaw to six months in the Crawford County Justice Center. Because of the ongoing restrictions due to the coronavirus, Forshaw will report for jail on June 1.
“You are to have no contact with this victim ever. I don’t care what the victim’s age is,” Leuthold said.