What did Emily Lehneis do? Charges explored as former special education teacher sentenced to a year in prison

On Tuesday, December 26, 2023, 31-year-old Emily Lehneis, a former special education teacher at Susquehannock High School who was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student, was sentenced at the York County Courthouse.

The Southern York Regional Police Department reported that on September 20, 2023, Emily, who was also previously employed at the South Western School District, pleaded guilty to one count of institutional s*xual assault, which is a third-degree felony, and one count of corruption of minors, which is a first-degree misdemeanor.

The York Daily Record reported that after a prolonged sentencing hearing, Judge Kathleen J. Prendergast sentenced Emily Lehneis to one to two years in state prison with a consecutive five years of probation.

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Emily Lehneis was charged after a six-month-long investigation

According to the Southern York Regional Police Department, charges against Emily Lehneis were filed after a 6-month investigation.

CBS 21 reported that on Monday, January 23, 2023, authorities were notified of a possible s*xual relationship between the teacher and a 17-year-old student at Susquehannock High School in the Southern York County School District in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania. The victim allegedly informed authorities that she was a part of the school's soccer team, where Emily coached, and they had private lessons at the school.

Emily Lehneis was charged after a 6-month investigation by the Southern York Regional Police Department. (Image via Twitter/@0riettaRose)

Records from the Pennsylvania Department of Education show that Emily coached in the South Western School District.

According to the report by CBS 21, the victim alleged that Emily kissed her even though she was not comfortable with being kissed by the 30-year-old teacher. She also mentioned that she never imagined her first kiss would be from a teacher. The victim also informed that they shared explicit videos and photos, and in October 2022, Emily asked the 17-year-old to be her secret girlfriend.

The York Daily Record reported that the victim agreed to her teacher's alleged proposal even though she was aware that it was inappropriate. After a week or two, the victim told Emily Lehneis that she could not be her secret girlfriend any further.

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Emily Lehneis allegedly prevented the victim from reporting the crimes

The York Daily Record reported that during the hearing, Judge Kathleen J. Prendergast heard the victim impact statements given by the accused and her mother. The court also heard from the defendant herself, her husband, and her mother.

In her statement, the victim mentioned how Emily Lehneis tried to place the burden of her family, marriage, and career on her shoulders to prevent her from reporting the offenses. The victim said,

"My whole junior year was taken from me."

According to the report by the York Daily Record, during the hearing, the defense's key argument was Emily's pregnancy, which is expected in March. The defense attorney asked that Emily be detained in county prison so that she may be released on furlough to give birth in a hospital and spend the remainder of her sentence on house arrest. While announcing the sentence, Judge Kathleen J. Prendergast said,

"It is no different from someone who commits any other state crime. She does not get special treatment because she is well educated and should have known better, nor does she get any special punishment."

The report by the York Daily Record stated that the court ruled Emily Lehneis to register as a Tier II s*x offender and have no contact with children except her own, which will also be supervised pending decisions by parole or family court. She was also given a penalty of $3,250 in restitution to the Pennsylvania Victims Compensation Assistance Program, and $5,000 in restitution to the victim's family, pending a restitution hearing in January 2024.