An Ohio school administrator, who was married with children, was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday for having sex with a teen student in her office.
Emily Nutley, a 43-year-old former counselor who worked with at-risk students at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, pleaded guilty to sexual battery in April, and must also now register as a Tier 3 sex offender every 90 days during her life, WLWT's Karin Johnson reports.
Although Ohio law does not mandate a prison term for such a crime, the victim's family called for the maximum possible sentence. Ohio asked for a five-year sentence, while the defense asked for probation.
A sentencing memorandum obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer said text messages showed Nutley initiated the sexual relationship with the male student in late 2023. Nutley had texted the student, who was 17 at the time, sent nude photos of herself to him and had at least four sexual encounters with him.
Emily Nutley was sentenced for sexual battery on Tuesday. (Liz Dufour/The Enquirer/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
When the teen tried to end things with Nutley, who was 42 at the time, the documents state that "she threatened to kill herself" and paid him to keep quiet about the relationship.
The student told his parents about the situation on Oct. 7, 2024, and met with school administrators the following day, the newspaper reported. On Oct. 11, 2024, the school fired Nutley after an internal investigation.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer L. Branch accepted Emily Nutley's plea agreement for sexual battery on April 7. (Liz Dufour/The Enquirer/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
In the memorandum, prosecutors likened Nutley to "most pedophiles," saying that she "preyed on the most defenseless person she could find."
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Nutley’s attorney, Joe Suhre, filed a separate sentencing memorandum, describing her as a "broken woman" who suffered from mental illness and alcohol abuse and was a survivor of sexual abuse.
Suhre said that when the sexual encounters with the student began, Nutley was depressed over the death of her brother and the dissolution of her marriage. He said a psychologist treating her found her behavior to be tied to "unresolved trauma."
Prosecutor Elyse Deters speaks during the sentencing hearing for Emily Nutley at the Hamilton County Courthouse in Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Albert Cesare/The Enquirer/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Prosecutors wrote that the student "will pay the price for the rest of his life" over Nutley’s actions.
Since her conviction in April, Nutley has been in a treatment program for those convicted of sex crimes, Suhre said.