HANOVER, Pa. — Note: The original article has been modified to correct the charges Emily Lehneis pleaded guilty to and the length of her prison term.
A former teacher at Susquehannock High School will serve at least a year in prison plus an additional five years of probation for having inappropriate contact with a student.
Emily Lehneis, 31, of Hanover, was sentenced on Tuesday, court records show.
Lehneis reached a negotiated plea with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to institutional sexual assault and corruption of minors. She will serve a minimum of one year and a maximum of two years on the first charge and five years of probation on the second, according to court records.
She was also ordered to pay $8,520 in restitution, to complete Sex Offender Treatment and abide by Sex Offender Conditions.
She is also barred from having contact with the victim.
Lehneis was initially charged after an investigation by the Southern Regional Police Department in January. Authorities learned she was having sexual contact with a 17-year-old female student, police said.
The victim reported that she would sometimes meet with Lehneis for private soccer lessons. The two communicated via phone calls, texts and social media apps, sometimes exchanging sexually explicit conversations, photos and videos, police said.
According to police, Lehneis asked the victim to be her "secret girlfriend" on Oct. 18, 2022. The victim allegedly told police she knew the relationship was inappropriate and terminated it after a week or two.
The 17-year-old also reported several other instances of inappropriate contact between herself and Lehneis in Lehneis' classroom, including the teacher placing a sticky name tag on the student's private area "in a flirtatious way" and Lehneis kissing her on the mouth, according to a criminal complaint.
The affidavit goes on to say that the victim told police "she never thought her first kiss would be from a teacher."
Lehneis resigned from SHS on Jan. 27 after being placed on paid administrative leave, according to a statement from the district.
