Former teacher in Logan County accused of sexual battery, rape involving a student

BELLEFONTAINE — A former teacher at Indian Lake High School is facing trial in January on multiple counts of sexual battery and rape involving a student while he was employed by the school in Logan County’s Washington Twp.

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Tanner Schoen pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Logan County Common Pleas Court and was released on bond. A status hearing in the case is set for Sept. 19 before Judge Kevin Braig.

Schoen, who resigned July 6, taught agriculture at the high school through its Ohio Hi-Point Career Center program.

A Logan County grand jury on July 12 handed up an indictment accusing Schoen on 10 counts of sexual battery involving one female in an incident or incidents that occurred between Aug. 17, 2020, and May 25, 2023. Those counts accuse Schoen of engaging in sexual conduct with a “victim, not his spouse,” while Schoen was a “teacher, administrator, coach or other person in authority employed by or serving in a school in which Victim No. 1 was enrolled or attended.”

The single rape count accuses Schoen of “purposely compelling her to submit by force or threat of force” somewhere in Logan County on or about Aug. 17, 2022 through May 24, 2023.

Schoen had been employed with the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center since July 1, 2017, Superintendent Rick Smith told News Center 7.

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Schoen’s work history includes a stint as agriculture instructor at Felicity High School in Ohio from 2015-2017.

Ohio Hi-Point Career Center is a career-technical school district serving 14 partner schools in five counties (Auglaize, Champaign, Hardin, Logan and Union). OH-P’s main campus in Bellefontaine serves high school juniors and seniors while the district’s satellite programs bring career programming to students in their home schools.

Superintendent Smith, in a prepared statement, said he was made aware of the allegations in June, that Schoen had an inappropriate relationship with a student. Smith said he and Indian Lake Superintendent Rob Underwood immediately contacted the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and removed Schoen from access to any students while the investigation was active.

The same day the indictment was forwarded to the court, OH-PCC and Indian Lake Schools issued a joint statement regarding the true bill:

“Tanner Schoen, OHP/ILHS FFA Instructor, submitted his resignation on July 6, 2023. Today, we received information that Mr. Schoen was criminally indicted related to professional misconduct allegations.

Ohio Hi-Point and Indian Lake Schools are outraged by the accusations against Mr. Schoen. We hold our staff members to the highest code of conduct, and this alleged behavior is unacceptable and betrays the trust of our students, families, and communities.

The safety and security of students will always be our highest priority. We encourage everyone to continue to follow the district’s “see something, say something” practice so we can actively address issues and provide a safe learning environment for everyone. We will continue to focus on our students and support the OHP/IL FFA Chapter during their summer activities as OHP and Indian Lake look to hire an instructor for the fall.”

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