FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- A teacher and coach at Fairfield High School faces multiple sex charges involving a female student, Fairfield police said.
Tyler Michael Conrad, 26, of Hamilton, was indicted on two counts of sexual battery, one count of sexual imposition and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
He pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning, WCPO media partner the Journal-News reported. A judge ordered him to stay away from the alleged victim and the school.
The police department said the activities occurred over the past several months and involved a 16-year-old girl.
"It’s sad," said Melisha Hungler, whose 17-year-old son attends Fairfield High. "We send our kids to school thinking that’s where they’re safe and everything else, and it’s not even other students that are taking advantage. Now it’s teachers, and it’s sad and pathetic."
Fairfield City Schools superintendent Billy Smith said Conrad had been placed on administrative leave Oct. 13 as part of the investigation; he will remain on leave "pending board consideration of the matter on Nov. 30."
"Our district was made aware of the allegations and criminal investigation by the Fairfield Police Department, and the district cooperated fully with the Fairfield Police Department," Smith said in a news release.
Kim Prather, another Fairfield High parent, said she was shocked to hear about the charges. Prather’s son plays on the Fairfield football team, and she does photography for the team.
"There had been some rumors," she said. "There were things going on late last week, so we kind of discussed it then. The right thing to do, the right way to handle things, is to talk to someone."
Conrad was hired by the district in August 2015, according to Fairfield City Schools spokesperson Gina Gentry-Fletcher.
Butler County authorities said Conrad would be arraigned before the court Wednesday at 11 a.m.
WCPO will update this story as more information becomes available.
