By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
JEFFERSON — A former Conneaut teacher who pleaded guilty to sex-related charges involving a high school student avoided jail at his sentencing Tuesday afternoon, but must register as a sex offender for 15 years.
Jeffrey A. Bickel, 26, of Cortland, who taught middle school music for only a few months in the Conneaut Area City Schools district, also received an angry lecture from the presiding judge and condemnation from the victim’s mother.
“(Life since the incident) has been hell,” the woman told Bickel, her voice shaking. “It has been horrible.”
In October, Bickel pleaded guilty to two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of disseminating material harmful to a juvenile. Combined, the charges carried a maximum four year jail sentence.
Bickel originally faced charges that could have put him in jail for 25 years. He accepted the negotiated plea shortly before a trial was to begin.
Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court Judge Ronald Vettel sentenced Bickel to three years of community control and ordered him to pay a $1,000 fine, court expenses and the cost of medical testing the victim received. Bickel must also avoid contact with the victim and her family, Vettel said.
Bickel must also register as a sex offender with the sheriff department in the county where he lives, in this case Trumbull County. As a Tier I offender, he must report to the department for 15 years, Vettel said.
Police said Bickel engaged in a consensual, sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female Conneaut High School student between November 2008 and March. He also sent nude photos of himself to the girl’s cellular telephone, investigators said.
An anonymous telephone call to Children’s Services launched the police probe.
Vettel said he was strongly tempted to dole out jail time to Bickel, contrary to the recommendations of the prosecutor and victim’s family.
“If I don’t put you in prison, people will be mad at me,” he said. “But I’m not here to ruin any more lives. You young people have done a pretty good job yourselves.”
Vettel directed a severe tongue-lashing at Bickel, telling him “You should be ashamed.”
“You were in a position of trust,” Vettel said. “You were hired to teach music. Parents put their children in your control. They thought they could trust you.”
Bickel and the victim first met at CHS band camp, Vettel said. Later, the victim and a friend visited Bickel at his home. At some point, the pair exchanged telephone numbers, Vettel said.
“You’re the adult,” the judge said. “You should have put your foot down and said this is going to end.”
Bickel’s attorney, Paul Conn of Youngstown, said his client “made a seriously poor choice in life and is extremely sorry about it.” Bickel is a third generation music teacher who has “brought shame to his family,” Conn said.
Bickel briefly addressed the court at the hearing, saying he was “very, very sorry” for any harm he brought to the victim’s family. Bickel also apologized to his own family “for what I’ve put them through.”
“I hope I can be forgiven for what I’ve done,” Bickel said, adding he was ready to accept his punishment.
The victim’s mother made it clear forgiveness won’t happen anytime soon. Even though the girl was never identified in news accounts, she is mocked and teased at school and she and her family have been subjected to stares and whispers.
“We can’t walk through a store without people looking at us,” the mother said, her voice trembling in anger. “We live in a small town. Everybody knows everybody. She is being punished and is still being punished.”
The Star Beacon is not naming the mother to protect the identity of the victim.
The woman lambasted Bickel for his role in the incident.
“You’re supposed to be the adult,” the mother said. “She had just turned 17. You told her everything any young girl wants to hear. What you did I cannot forgive.”
Harold Specht Jr., Ashtabula County chief assistant county prosecutor, represented the state at Tuesday’s hearing. Last fall, Specht said the state accepted the negotiated plea to spare the victim the trauma of testifying on the stand.
He also said the felony convictions and sex offender status would keep Bickel out of the classroom.
Bickel was hired in the summer of 2008 and fired by the Conneaut Board of Education in April, shortly after the charges were filed. Besides teaching middle school music, Bickel served as assistant director of the CHS marching band.
