An Ohio school teacher who convinced a student to have sex with her in exchange for good grades has been released from jail after serving only a quarter of her sexual battery sentence. Madalyn Arnett, from Dayton, pleaded guilty in March 2019 for having an inappropriate relationship with the 16-year-old student at Franklin High School and was sentenced to four years behind bars. However, she’s now been released after only serving one.
- The student wanted to improve his grades. According to police reports, the student approached Arnett to inquire how he could improve his grades, and while she initially declined to help him, she later contacted him outside of school on social media and initiated conversations that were “sexual in nature.”
- Arnett aggressively pursued the student. After bombarding him with nude photos and videos of herself, the student eventually gave in and Arnett picked him up down the street from his house. She then drove to an empty parking lot where they had sex in her car, the prosecutor’s office claims. The incident was later reported to school officials, who then reached out to police.
- Her attorneys filed a motion for her early release. A year into her sentence, Arnett’s lawyers filed a motion for judicial release in which they claimed that she was remorseful and that she’d rehabilitated herself in prison, working in food service and as a program aid.
- Judge Timothy Tepe approved the motion. Prosecutors vehemently opposed the request, but that didn’t stop Tepe from allowing Arnett’s release. “Ms. Arnett has a permanent residence with family, and all of her family and friends reside in the area, including her three young children,” the filed motion claimed. “Ms. Arnett plans on actively seeking work upon her release. She is extremely remorseful for her actions and has shown a deeper level of understanding and compassion for all victims.”
- There are conditions to her release, of course. Arnett will not only have to wear an electronic ankle monitor but she’ll also have to avoid contact with minor children outside of her immediate family and complete a sexual offender treatment program.
