Local News
Former teacher pleads guilty in student sex case
Jeffrey Bickel will be labeled a sex offender and be required to register his whereabouts
JEFFERSON — A former Conneaut Middle School music teacher accused of having sex with a high school student has pleaded guilty to two felony charges, according to Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court records.
Jeffrey Bickel, 26, of Cortland, pleaded guilty to two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of disseminating material harmful to a juvenile. The charges are fourth- and fifth-degree felonies, respectively.
The imposition charges carries a jail sentence of six to 18 months, while the penalty for the disseminating charge is six months to a year in jail, said Harold Specht Jr., Ashtabula County chief assistant county prosecutor.
The plea was entered on Friday, according to information on the court’s Web site.
Bickel had faced five counts of sexual battery and one count of disseminating material, charges that carried a combined, total sentence of 25 years in prison. A jury trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
Police had alleged Bickel had sexual contact with a 17-year-old Conneaut High School girl between November 2008 and March. He also reportedly sent nude photographs of himself to the girl’s cellular telephone, police have said.
The plea agreement spares the victim the trauma of having to testify in open court, Specht said.
“That was one of our concerns,” he said. “We took that into consideration.”
With the plea, Bickel will be labeled a sex offender and be required to register his whereabouts for several years, Specht said.
“And he won’t be teaching young people again,” he said.
A presentencing investigation was ordered in advance of the sentencing hearing, which should come before the end of the year.
Attorney Paul Conn of Youngstown, who represented Bickel, was in court Wednesday afternoon and was not immediately available for comment, according to a receptionist at his office.
Jon Arcaro, Conneaut’s public safety director, declined comment on the case Wednesday afternoon.
Ashtabula County Children’s Services received an anonymous tip on the situation in mid-March and quickly contacted Conneaut police. Bickel’s case was bound over to a grand jury in May.
Hired in 2008, Bickel taught music at the middle school and also served as assistant marching band director. His contract was not renewed by Conneaut’s Board of Education.
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