Married teacher who went viral when adoring class surprised her on ‘GMA’ pleads guilty to sex with student up to 30 times
An Arkansas teacher once surprised on national TV by adoring students has pleaded guilty to having sex with a high school boy up to 30 times.
Married mom Heather Hare, 33, first made headlines in 2020 when she was surprised on ”Good Morning America” by students bidding her goodbye as her home economics class was discontinued for distance learning during the pandemic.
She now potentially faces life behind bars after pleading guilty Monday to transporting a minor across state lines for unlawful sexual activity, prosecutors said.
The once-beloved teacher was arrested last April when a 17-year-old student came forward to report her repeated abuse, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette also reported.
The boy — identified only as “J.R.” — told police that he met Hare on the first day of his senior year at Bryant High School in the fall of 2021, Assistant US Attorney John Ray White told the court hearing.
“Hare began one-on-one counseling sessions with the minor victim, eventually giving him her personal phone number and primarily communicating with him through Instagram and Snapchat,” the prosecutor’s office said.
“At one point, Ms. Hare told J.R. that she had a dream of them having sex,” White said.
“The minor victim and Hare had sex approximately 20 to 30 times throughout the 2021-2022 school term, including multiple times at her Conway residence, in her vehicle, and in her classroom and parking lots at Bryant High School.”
It included sex during an April 2022 school trip to Washington, DC, when Hare took J.R. and three female students for a national LifeSmarts competition tied to her Family Consumer Sciences course.
“J.R. advised they planned to have sex on the trip and not have to worry about being caught,” White said. “Hare did come to his hotel room and the two engaged in sex.”
The now-former teacher broke down in court as she was asked if everything the prosecutor detailed was “100% accurate.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, sobbing softly before confirming she pleaded “guilty.”
She copped to the federal transportation of a minor charge in a plea deal seeking 13 years in prison.
However, the judge refused to rule on whether he has accepted the deal, telling Hare he will only decide by the sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
If he turns down the plea deal, Hare then has the option of withdrawing her guilty plea and taking the case to trial.
That would leave open the possibility of a life sentence, prosecutors stressed.
“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,” said US Attorney Jonathan Ross.
“Our office will continue to seek significant penalties against any educational professional who sexually abuse their students.”
A date was not set for sentencing.
Hare taught for Bryant public schools for nearly 10 years when she retired at 33 in April last year, the same month she was arrested, a district spokesperson told The Post.
“We are aware of the latest developments in the legal case involving a former district employee. We take all allegations of employee misconduct seriously,” the spokesperson said Wednesday.
“In this case, district personnel notified all appropriate authorities as soon as they learned of the initial allegations, the rep said, saying staff also “fully cooperated with, and will continue to cooperate with, all authorities for the duration of this case.
“As the legal proceedings continue, our hope is that justice will be the result for everyone involved.”
During Hare’s appearance on “GMA” in 2020, she said she “immediately started bawling my eyes out” when she saw her students bidding her farewell.
Then-sophomore Bella Watkins invited 11 of her friends to share selfie footage as they said goodbye to the popular educator, ABC News reported at the time.
“It breaks my heart because so many kiddos look for a break in their day and they enjoy coming to my class,” Hare said on the show. “The last unit was sewing. We had so many fun projects [planned] and we didn’t get to do those.”
