Former Galion teacher Ryan Tanner was sentenced to six months in jail plus five years of community control after pleading guilty to three counts of gross sexual imposition in Crawford County Common Pleas Court Monday.
Tanner, 37, been arrested on January 28 and had originally been charged with five counts of felony three sexual battery. He had allegedly been involved in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a seventeen-year-old student. The student graduated in the spring of 2012.
Tanner pleaded guilty to three amended charges of gross sexual imposition without consent due to being impaired because of a mental or physical condition between November 1, 2011 and May 30, 2012 on Monday, each carrying a felony four charge. Counts four and five were dismissed per the agreement.
Tanner was sentenced to serve 18 months on each count for a total of 54 months. Once Tanner serves six months, he will be placed with the Volunteers of America (VOA) in Mansfield. Upon completion of the VOA program, he will then serve five years on community control. He was credited 183 days he has already served.
Crawford County Prosecutor Matt Crall was pleased with the outcome of the trial saying, “We are very happy that he chose take responsibility for his actions. We believe the sentence is appropriate based upon what happened with these two individuals. We take very seriously the safety of our children and our schools. And I think it is very important that any other person who might want to take advantage of our students is deterred by that, and that is why we took this matter very seriously.”
Tanner was fined $1,000, must register as a Tier I sex offender and must surrender his teaching license. Upon release Tanner has three days to register as a sex offender, and must reregister annually for fifteen years. Judge Russell Wiseman also ordered Tanner to have no contact with Galion City Schools or the victim.
Wiseman was informed that the victim and her family had been notified but chose not to be present. Galion Detective Eric Bohach was also present at the proceedings.