Matt Mencarini

Lansing State Journal

JACKSON — A former Leslie School District teacher was sentenced this week to at least three years in prison for having sex with an underage boy.

Jamee Hiatt, 32, of Grass Lake, pleaded guilty in November to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wilson sentenced Hiatt on Thursday to three to 20 years in prison on the first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge and three to 15 years in prison on the third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge, according to court records. She was facing up to life in prison.

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Hiatt, who resigned from her position as a third grade teacher at Leslie's Woodworth Elementary School a day after she was arrested in 2016, had a sexual relationship with a boy that began in 2014 and continued through the end of 2015, authorities alleged. The boy was 14 at the time her arrest in January and no longer attends Leslie schools, authorities have said.

Hiatt was teaching at Leslie Middle School as recently as 2013, according to the district’s website.

Messages were left seeking comment from Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jerry Jarzynka and Hiatt's attorney.

A second now former Leslie School District teacher was charged in October in Ingham County with having sex with a student. David Hovarter is charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He faces up to life in prison if convicted and is awaiting trial in Ingham County Circuit Court.

During a hearing in November, prosecutors said they've offered a plea deal that includes Hovarter pleading guilty to one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and an added count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. The plea deal includes an agreement setting his minimum sentence at 10 years in prison.

Contact Matt Mencarini at 517-267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.