(01/14/09 – Initial BadBadTeacher.com Report)
Nicole Elizabeth Howell, 25, a 10th-grade English teacher at Dayton High School in Dayton, Kentucky has been charged with one count of sexual abuse on allegations that she had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old male student.
Reportedly the boy told investigators that Howell called him on his cell phone and invited him over to her house in Covington for alcoholic drinks after a high school football game last year.
The boy also said that he and Howell had sex, and that she told him not to tell anyone.
Howell has been on suspension without pay since December when school administrators heard rumors of alleged misconduct involving Howell and the alleged victim.
Howell is out jail after posting a $5,000 bond.
Howell has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Her next appearance in Kenton District Court is scheduled for January 20.
01/20/09 – Court Appearance
In a court appearance today, the attorney for Nicole Howell argued that Howell never had the alleged victim in one of her classes and therefore Howell wasn’t in a position to even influence the alleged victim’s grades, much less a supervisory role.
The judge did not see it that way and ruled that there was enough evidence to present the case to a grand jury.
If convicted Howell faces up to five years in prison.
Howell remains free on $5,000 cash bond.
01/22/09 – Nicole Howell Fired
Reportedly Nicole Howell was today fired from her position with Dayton Independent Schools.
The superintendent of Dayton Independent Schools cites “conduct unbecoming of a teacher” as the reason 25-year-old Nicole Howell lost her job.
03/21/09 – Grand Jury Indictment
Nicole Howell has reportedly been indicted by a Kenton County grand jury on one count of first-degree sexual abuse.
Howell’s arraignment on the charge is set for March 30th.
Howell faces up to five years in prison in convicted.
07/31/09 – Nicole Howell Fights Back
Nicole Howell, says that her arrest for an alleged sexual relationship with a 16-year-old football player was unfair and untrue and has ruined her career and possibly her life.
Howell also says that the alleged relationship not only never happened, but there is no evidence other than the ramblings of a high school kid who at first claimed the two were involved in a threesome with another male student.
Howell reportedly plans to sue the school district, the police department and the boy who she says made it all up.
Howell has a pre-trial hearing set for September 28 and her trial is scheduled to begin on October 13th.
08/04/09 – Prosecution Seeks Gag Order
Prosecutors are seeking a gag order to prevent Nicole Howell and her attorney, Eric Deters, from talking publicly about her case.
On Monday night they appeared on the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News Network and on Tuesday they appeared on “The Early Show” on CBS.
08/05/09 – Judge Cautions Attorneys
A northern Kentucky judge has told attorneys in a teacher sex case to adhere to rules of professional conduct.
Nicole Howell’s attorney then canceled a news conference he had scheduled for Thursday at which he was expected to talk about the case against his 26-year-old client.
09/29/09 – Trial Date Set
On Monday, a pre-trial hearing was held for Nicole Howell.
Howell will stand trial, beginning on October 13th.
Howell defense attorney, Eric Deters, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders was going to have a “Mike Nifong Duke lacrosse problem” .
Deters also reportedly said, “We expect after the acquittal to be able to successfully sue (Sanders’) office for how he intentionally and maliciously destroyed Nichole’s life. The lawsuit will be filed the day after her acquittal.”
10/02/09 – Judge Issues Gag Order
Kenton Circuit Judge Gregory Bartlett has reportedly issued a gag order in the case of Nicole Howell.
The gag order comes after defense attorney Eric Deters compared the prosecution’s case to the high profile and now-discredited prosecution of three Duke University athletes.
10/13/09 – Trial Underway
Jury selection in the trial of Nicole Howell wrapped up this morning and after the lunch break the trial got underway.
During jury selection, the prosecution admitted they have no DNA or physical evidence and only the testimony of the alleged victim.
Howell has repeatedly denied any improper relationship with the alleged victim and earlier this summer stated, “I’ve never had sex with this student. I have never seen him. I have never even seen him off campus. There’s not DNA, there’s no pictures, there’s not video, there’s nothing.”
Howell and her attorney have already announced that once she is acquitted, she plans to file a civil suit against the school district, Dayton police and the alleged victim.
10/14/09 – Alleged Victim Testifies
The alleged victim testified that he would sneak out of his house for late-night rendezvous with Howell, that he engaged in partying and spiking orange drinks with vodka, that on two or three occasions Howell provided the vodka and that there were four or five sexual encounters between Howell and himself at her apartment.
Under cross-examination, the alleged victim couldn’t remember many details of the alleged sexual encounters, couldn’t state why he always took his used condom with him, where he purchased the condoms or which brand he used and was unaware of Howell’s tattoos on her lower back.
The prosecution is expected to continues its case today with testimony from several additional witnesses.
10/14/09 – Case Update
This morning the defense asked a judge to dismiss the charges against owing to the prosecution changing the time line of the alleged offense. The judge admonished the prosecution, calling them “sloppy,” and threatened to declare a mistrial. Defense attorney Eric Deters withdrew the motion indicating he did not want a mistrial declared.
Curt Haun, the former principal of Dayton High School, testified Wednesday that he first heard rumors about a relationship between Howell and the student from Howell. This after Howell came to his office and said that she had heard rumors and wanted them stopped.
The detective who investigate the case testified that between Oct. 29, 2008, and Dec. 1, 2008 Howell sent 430 text messages to the student and that the student sent her 368 text messages.
Deters questioned the detective as to why investigators never processed Howell’s apartment for evidence of the alleged sexual activity.
A Dayton High School senior and friend of the alleged victim has testified that he was flabbergasted when he spotted his friend and classmate after midnight walking through MainStrasse with who the witness says is Nicole Howell. The alleged victim testified Tuesday that he had met Howell in MainStrasse, and had sex with her, after getting intoxicated on an orange drink spiked with vodka. The defense attorney, attacked the witnesses identification of Howell and eventually got the witness to conceded he didn’t even remember what the woman he claims was Howell was wearing.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Stefanie Kastner used the phone records to the pizza parlor to further support the victim’s claims that he was at Howell’s place. Howell’s mobile phone alleged called a pizza restaurant on a date that the victim claims he ate pizza with Howell on the floor of her bedroom.
10/15/09 – Case Update
Nicole Howell’s boyfriend, Chris Manor, testified on Thursday and said he was with her on some of the dates the student claimed he had sex with Howell. Manor also testified that he was never suspicious she was seeing another man and that he had never even heard of the student.
Nicole Howell also testified today, repeatedly denying any sexual or romantic contact with the alleged victim.
Howell also testified that she never sent a single sexual explicit message to the alleged victim and that she became concerned when he allegedly sent her sexually explicit messages. Howell also indicated that the student knew details of her apartment by insinuating that he was stalking her, possibly looking into the windows of her second- and third-story apartment.
On Tuesday, the student testified that he picked up Howell’s unattended mobile phone at the school one day and called himself in order to get her number.
Jurors should begin deliberations Friday.
10/16/09 – Case Update
Nicole Howell returned to the witness stand this morning to conclude her testimony and face cross-examination and admitted that she replied to text messages sent by the student, but denied emphatically that she ever had sex with the student.
Regarding a pizza delivery, Howell said she did order a pizza that day and shared it with her roommate. She also testified that her boyfriend came to her house about an hour after the pizza arrived.
Howell’s attorney Eric Deters had Howell show two tattoos and a skin graft to the jury. Deters said that Howell’s accuser failed to identify either of these marks during his testimony.
Howell reportedly became very adversarial as she answered questions from prosecuting attorney Stefanie Kastner during cross examination.
During cross examination, Kastner asked Howell if she flirted with any students, if she would purposely drop pens and bend over and stick out her rear end in front of students and how appropriate it was that she send text messages to students.
Following Howell’s testimony both the prosecution and defense wrapped up their cases and the jury is expected to begin deliberations after the lunch break.
10/16/09 – Not Guilty Verdict
The jury in the trial of Nicole Howell has returned a not guilty verdict.
The jury returned the not guilty verdict after deliberating for about an hour and 15 minutes.
Following the not guilty verdict, Nicole Howell speaking to the media said, “There are no words right now to tell the citizens on my jury how amazing it is. They did the right thing. They listened to what I had to say. I’ve been saying it from day one, that I’m not guilty. And I’m not guilty. I’m innocent.”
10/17/09 – Trial Coverage
The Cincinnati Enquirer provided excellent coverage of the trial of Nicole Howell and particularly the verdict in the case.
In a report titled, “Teacher found not guilty in sex case” the Enquirer provides a glimpse into the “emotional high” of Howell, her defense team and of course her family and other supporters when the not guilty verdict was announced.
Also in the article, there is a public opinion poll, which at the time of this writing indicates that over 80 percent of the 1957 persons that had taken the poll agree with the verdict, almost 11 percent disagree and over 8 percent are uncertain.
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