MARYSVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — Multiple sex offense charges against a former teacher and coach for the Upper Arlington school district have disappeared under a plea deal accepted Tuesday.
In June 2022, a former Hastings Middle School student came forward and accused Joel Cutler of sexually assaulting her from 2000 to 2003, leading a Madison County grand jury to indict him. Madison County Municipal Court records showed Cutler originally faced the following charges:
- Two counts of rape
- Four counts of sexual battery
- Three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor
Cutler originally pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, prosecutors and Cutler’s defense team reached a plea deal earlier in 2023, which removed all of the above charges and swapped in a single felony count of child endangerment. Under the new charge, Cutler could face six months of jail time, a $10,000 fine, 10,000 hours of community service and five years of community control.
Because there are no longer sex offense charges on the table, Cutler won’t have to register as a sex offender. However, he voluntarily surrendered his teaching and coaching licenses, and resigned from the Upper Arlington school district.
During a plea hearing Tuesday morning, appointed Judge Dan Hogan accepted the deal. The victim, Essie Baird, spoke at the hearing and asked the judge to reject it, calling the child endangerment charge “baseless.” She previously wrote a letter to Hogan in opposition to the agreement after learning about it.
Baird, who spoke with NBC4 in an exclusive interview on Nov. 16, said prosecutors never notified her of the plea deal being offered, a violation of Marsy’s Law.
“This is a man walking free with no consequence, no requirement to register as a sex offender, no prison time,” Baird said. “What is this communicating to other perpetrators, that ‘I can just keep doing this? And I’m going to get off. I’m going to be free,’”
Prosecutors, who would not speak on camera with NBC4, said they analyzed the risk of going to trial alongside the strengths and weaknesses of the case, and believed the deal was a fair settlement.
Cutler’s defense attorney, Mark Collins, told NBC4 at the hearing that his team hired private investigators who spoke with witnesses that the state did not, which paved the way for a potential plea deal.
“When neither side is happy with the plea deal, that usually means it’s fair,” Collins said.
Madison County court records did not show a sentencing date scheduled as of Tuesday.
