Why was teacher Heather Hare on ‘Good Morning America’ in 2020 and what crime did she plead guilty to 4 years later?

This article mentions child sex abuse. Please read with caution.

In 2020, Heather Hare was on Good Morning America for a tribute video her students made when the Arkansas high school teacher’s class got canceled because of the pandemic. Hare was back in the headlines four years later for a much darker reason — pleading guilty to a crime.

According to a DOJ press release, Hare taught Family Consumer Science classes at Bryant High School in Bryant, Arkansas, just outside Little Rock. In 2020, Hare’s class was discontinued because of distance learning, and her students put together a heartfelt video in her honor. In her GMA appearance, Hare said, when she saw it, “I immediately started bawling my eyes out … It was fun to see which face would pop up next” (via People).

Hare was indicted in Aug. 2023

One year later, Hare was back to work at Bryant High School when she met an unnamed male student, a senior. During that school year, Hare is accused of counseling the teen one-on-one and giving him her private contact information on social media. Their relationship became sexual, and Hare admitted to sexual contact with the minor up to 30 times in that period. Meanwhile, Hare accompanied a small group of students, including the victim, to Washington DC that year.

Because of Hare’s sexual contact with a minor in Aug. 2023, the former teacher was indicted on one charge of interstate/foreign travel for prostitution, sexual activity by coercion, and one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Hare pleaded guilty in Jan. 2024

In a plea deal for one charge being dropped, Hare, then 33, pleaded guilty to all remaining charges in Jan. 2024. Hare would be sentenced later, but at a minimum, she’ll spend at least 10 years in prison with five years of supervision after her release.

According to Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas:

“This former teacher took advantage of her position of trust and the vulnerability of a minor, using her role to entice and lure this minor into engaging in unlawful sexual activity. Our office will continue to seek significant penalties against any educational professional who sexually abuse their students.”

via GuardOnline

Hare’s sexual contact with the minor, known only as J.R., reportedly took place in Hare’s classroom, at her home, in Hare’s vehicle, and on the DC class trip. She was dismissed from her job at Bryant High School when the allegations of inappropriate sexual contact with a minor were announced, MySaline.com reported. Hare is reportedly married and has a daughter.