Ex-teacher gets 3 months for sexual abuse
Former student blasts punishment
A judge in Madison County sentenced former Upper Arlington Schools teacher and coach Joel Cutler to serve three months in jail and five years probation for sexually abusing a former student.
After an emotional hearing that lasted more than an hour, retired Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Dan Hogan looked at the packed courtroom in Madison County and said he was going to make everyone unhappy.
“It's almost like there's two different people I'm dealing with,” Hogan said, addressing Cutler, 48, who pleaded guilty in November to a felony charge of child endangerment.
Cutler had been accused of having a sexual relationship with a former student between 2000 and 2003 while she was a young teenager. As part of a plea agreement in the case, prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss rape charges.
Cutler also surrendered his teaching license and resigned from his position with Upper Arlington Schools as part of his plea agreement.
The woman who accused Cutler of grooming would later express her displeasure with Cutler's punishment.
‘Joel Cutler demolished her innocence’
Essie Baird, the victim in Cutler's case, said during Friday morning's sentencing hearing that the two year process which culminated in the hearing had been torture.
Baird, 35, spoke along with her sister and her mother, and said she was asking for someone in the system to care about her. “The wound that Joel Cutler left in me is a feeling of worthlessness,” Baird
said.
Baird's older sister, Jane Koerner, said she felt guilty because she was unable to protect her younger sister and said Cutler's actions had “forever undermined” her trust in educators.
“Joel Cutler demolished her innocence,” Koerner said.
After Baird's statement and the statements from her family, Hogan told Baird that if she was looking for healing, the courtroom was the wrong place to find it.
“Had this case gone to trial … in the long run that would not help you,” he said.
The judge asked Cutler to sit down with probation and answer more questions about the case for them and him.
“In this particular case, I have heard the allegations … I can't know to a certainty what happened here,” Hogan said. “I don't know from your side what those actions are.”
Through his attorney, Mark Collins, Cutler apologized for any mental anguish he caused Baird and said it was never his intention to lead her on.
As part of the imposed sentence, Hogan said he may add additional sanctions
to Cutler's sentence, depending on how Cutler answers the probation department's questions.
Hogan delayed the start of Cutler's jail sentence to make arrangements so he can keep his job.
The Madison County Prosecutor's office, in conjunction with Cutler's attorneys, had jointly recommended a sentence of five years of community control. Prosecutors had also requested jail time.
Nicholas Adkins, the elected Madison County Prosecutor, said after Friday's hearing that as the case was working its way through the system, new evidence and new witnesses came to light that required the prosecution team to reassess what was already a difficult case involving allegations from more than 20 years earlier.
In a sentencing memo filed with the court prior to Friday's hearing, Collins said he received nearly three dozen letters of support on Cutler's behalf.
Members of the community, former colleagues and former students of Cutler's wrote to speak about his character. The letters were not included with the memorandum, Collins wrote, out of fear of retribution. He noted that shortly after the November change of plea hearing, someone threw a brick through the windshield of Cutler's vehicle.
The sentencing memo also spelled out the difficulties with the case that ultimately led to a plea, including potential witnesses and details that would draw into question parts of the victim's recounting of events.
Victim unhappy with outcome; says case should have gone to trial
After Friday's hearing, Baird said prosecutors and police had not considered part of the evidence in the case, which she described as grooming. Baird voiced her displeasure with how the prosecutor's office had handled the proceedings and said she would have liked to go to trial.
In November, Hogan said neither side was absolutely satisfied with the outcome, which is usually a good sign that the deal was fair.
Hogan was appointed to preside over the case after the lone judge in Madison County recused himself.
Baird, previously told The Dispatch she felt the plea agreement was too lenient. Baird had wanted Cutler to have to register as a sexual offender, which he will not have to do as a result of the charge he pleaded guilty to, and to serve time in prison.
Baird stood as Hogan imposed the sentence and after he had gone off the record in the case told him he had done a “terrible job” before leaving the courtroom.
Cutler taught physical education in Upper Arlington Schools since 1999. He was placed on leave after Baird first reported the allegations against Cutler to police in 2021.
Cutler also was the head coach of the Upper Arlington High School football team between 2014 and 2018.
He was the head coach at Bishop Ready High School in 2012, 2013 and 2019.
bbruner@gannett.com