WINDHAM, Ohio (WJW) – A disgraced former local school superintendent who was convicted more than four years ago of sex crimes against two students is finally behind the walls of a state prison.
Lawyers for Laura Amero, 40, the former superintendent of Windham Village schools, fought for years against the strong objection of court officials in Portage County to allow her to remain free on bail while they appealed her conviction.
The case began to unfold in 2019 when Windham police were contacted by a concerned parent and learned that in Amero’s previous job as principal of Windham High School in 2017, she had illegal sexual relations with two 16-year-old students.
A police officer then recorded a conversation with Amero, when he questioned her about an intimate video of her that was being passed around by students.
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On the tape, the officer said, “In the last three days, a matter has come up and there is supposedly a video.”
“That’s what I heard too,” she replied.
“If it exists and it’s you, you’d better stand in front of it than…” said the police officer.
“I heard there was also a video he showed the guys on the basketball team,” Amero said.
During the conversation recorded in 2019, Amero initially claimed she was not the woman shown in the video and denied any wrongdoing.
But the officer informed her that there was ample evidence of her illegal relationship with one of the 16-year-old boys on social media and in text messages.
“You sent him some photos and he sent some back, and that ended up causing you to call him into the office and [deleted],” the officer said. “I think it probably happened, I can tell by your eyes and the way you’re talking to me, and it was a moment of weakness. I am sure.”
Two days later, Amero admitted that the report about the sexual encounter with the student in his office was true.
“I just need this to go away, so if I need to quit at the end of the year, I (excluded) will quit. I’ll leave. It was a moment of weakness, it was stupid,” she said.
“It’s a mandatory notification, just like we do at school,” the police officer responded.
“I’m not a predator, I’m not,” Amero said.
When confronted with all the evidence, Amero decided to plead guilty in November 2019 to charges of sexual assault and sexual imposition, for having sex with the 16-year-old boy and attempting to have sex with another student.
Before Amero was sentenced in February 2020, she told the court: “I never imagined I would hurt my children, but I did. I allowed lines to be crossed that should never have been crossed.”
Amero, who was pregnant at the time, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was notified that upon her release she would be classified as a Level III sex offender for the rest of her life, requiring in-person verification every 90 days.
That day, Amero said, “I hope one day these families forgive me and understand that I never really wanted to hurt their children. I am very sorry and I grieve from the bottom of my heart for these victims and their families.”
But instead of going to prison, Amero and her lawyers fought to allow her to remain free on bail after she filed an appeal claiming the 10-year sentence was too harsh.
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The 11th District Court of Appeals rejected his appeal on March 18, 2024, concluding that Amero abused his power as an authority figure and created lifelong trauma for the victims.
On April 17, 2024, Amero, now 40 years old, was finally sent to the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.
However, this is not the final chapter of the story, because Amero has filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court.
She asked the court to suspend the sentence, continue her $350,000 bond and keep her on electronic monitoring until her appeal could be heard, but the court denied her request.
State prison records indicate Amero will not be up for parole until March 2034, about 17 years after the crimes he committed at Windham High School. When she is released from prison as a Level III sex offender, she will never be able to work in any field of education.
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