Katherine Harder
Posted by: Webmaster in FE-MV, Hall of Shame, High Schools, Kansas, Language Arts
(3/27/08 - Initial BBT Report)
Katherine J. Harder, 31, a language arts teacher at a Manhattan High school, in Manhattan, Kansas has been arrested and jailed on suspicion of unlawful sexual relations.
Harder was arrested after a deputy sheriff on patrol allegedly discovered her and a 17-year-old male student together in a parked car Wednesday night.
Following her arrest Harder was held in the Pottawatomie County Jail on $3,000 bond.
Reportedly Harder, after being placed on paid administrative leave, resigned from the school.
Harder has been released from jail on $3,000 bond.
4/02/08 - Resignation Withdrawn
Katherine Harder has withdrawn her resignation from the Manhattan-Ogden Unified School District 383.
The school board is scheduled to meet today to discuss the matter.
04/03/08 - School Board Votes Termination
The Manhattan-Ogden Board of Education voted Wednesday night to terminate the contract of Katherine Harder.
04/16/08 - Katherine Harder Resigns Again
Katherine Harder who previously resigned and then withdrew her resignation has resigned again.
07/17/08 - No Contest Plea and Sentencing
Katherine Harder today entered a no contest plea to an amended charge of aggravated endangering of a child which is a more serious felony charge than the charge of unlawful sexual relations under which she was originally charged.
Harder took the plea deal on the more serious charge which does NOT require her to register as a sex offender. The lesser charge of unlawful sexual relations would have required her to register as a sex offender.
Following Harder’s plea, the judge sentenced her to to 6 months in prison, suspended that sentenced and granted Harder immediate probation for a period of 12 months.
The Webmaster’s Opinion:
Katherine Harder hit the jackpot on the “female discount” plea deal, escaping with no jail time and no requirement to register as a sex offender.
One can only wonder, would the Pottawatomie County Attorney’s office extend such a sweetheart deal to a 31-year-old male teacher caught with a 17-year-old female student?
Kinda’ makes one wonder why they even bother going through the motions when a reasonably attractive female teacher is sexually involved with a male student, doesn’t it?
References:
Teacher enters plea in sex case (07/17/08)
Teacher Caught in Act with Student Will Get Not Have to Register Sex Offender (07/17/08)
Teacher pleads no contest to endangerment in incident with student (07/17/08)
Teacher, accused of having sex with student, resigns a second time (04/16/08)
Manhattan teacher fired over student sex scandal (04/04/08)
MHS teacher denied request after alleged sex scandal (04/03/08)
Manhattan teacher withdraws her resignation (4/02/08)
High school teacher charged with sexual relations with student (3/27/08)
Area Teacher Caught In The Act With Student (3/27/08)
Teacher found in parked car with teen jailed (3/27/08)
Manhattan area teacher arrested for allegedly having sex with student (3/27/08)
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Entries (RSS)
August 28th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
What fascinates me is how teachers within this school district continue to defend this teacher by way of making statement such as these: “well… I don’t know if she did or didn’t do it” or “she’s a really good teacher and its a shame that this happened”. Are you (*******) kidding me educators!!! You should have zero respect for any teacher who sleeps with a student or has any type of improper relationship with a student, PLAIN AND SIMPLE!
Teachers: If you think there’s a chance that you might sleep with one of your students why not turn in your letter(s) of resignation, sign up for graduate classes at Kansas State University, and bang all the 18 and 19 year old students you can. Oh… that’s right, you can’t because you’re not attractive to the 18 and 19 years old that know what they want in their lives, you’re just attracted to the kids that put the most trust in you and are taught to trust and respect you.
The level of empathy that I’ve seen for this teacher is just one more reason for me to know that I do not want to go into the field of secondary education.
This comment edited by site moderator in accordance with our policies as outlined in the “Comments” page.
July 19th, 2008 at 7:11 am
You are right Jim, these predators are calculating and manipulative. They groom their victims carefully, dumping all types of emotional baggage on them. I cannot help but agree with the webmaster. She pleads to a harsher felony, but then is let off the hook on having to register as a sex offender??? In my opinion, the most important part of the sentencing would be to make sure she is registered as a sex offender. There is plenty of research and ample case histories to support the fact that this behavior does not stop.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Webmaster:As far as the female discount goes.What are the court systems suppose to do.These predators are not stupid.They spend the whole relationship telling the victim how their life will be ruined and how bad things will be for them and on and on if they are ever caught.So naturally when they do get caught the victim does not want to testify against the accused.And of course parents are to worried their child might have to something uncomfortable to teach them how to do the right thing.Imagine if no one had to testify if they did not want to I guess every crime would go unpunished.
April 13th, 2008 at 11:25 am
You go thru all the time and difficulty to adopt a child and this is where you spend your nights.Just do not understand.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:19 am
There’s been talk about Harder not being guilty, however, I know of the boy she had relations with and she is completely guilty. She preyed on this young man with an unstable home life. She observed that this student wanted some care and attention and he was an easy target for her. Currently, the boy is devastated. All this talk about people should be allowed to do what they want is total stupidity. She toyed with this boy and he is emotionally scarred. Yes she was an exceptional teacher, however, she needs to be put behind bars, she is a predator.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Well said Christie. It’s her fault not his and the kids meant well. That means that he’s actually doing a good job in school. Unlike his wife.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
LA CHIC you really need to chill out! I graduated last year from jchs and I know his real name. Being that your child is in his class then you should know thst K is NOT his last name. You are a parent yet you are calling two students nuts. THey dont mean harm, they feel bad for him, and both stated they can not wait for his return!! So as an adult you should have comprehended the message in that matter not in the matter of trying to exploit him or his character due to the actions of his wife. Stop making this about you and be concerned about him. You should ask your child what his name is because obviously you have been misinformed and you owe them an apology for calling them nuts! And the question regarding their daughter is obvious. The system is quick to take children out of a home when a parent messes up even if the issue has nothing to do with being a unfit parent. Taking their child away is punishing him for something she did. IF it wasn’t a possibiity or even such a common solution to stuff like this than they never would have been concerned about the placement of the child. Being a parent of a high school student, I assumed you would know how these things work. Im 19 and I’m a parent and even I knew that the child being snatched away from her father due to her mothers poor choice was a likely event. You stated that they needed to grow up, however, if you hadn’t mentioned you were the parent of one of his students, I would have thought this response was from a teenager blowing things out of proportion trying to change the students sympathy towards their teacher to exploitaion of their teacher. Sara and Eni I know you meant well. ITs unfortunatate that there are adults who have to bring themselves to the level of adolesence to try and prove a point which was, in the end, completely irrelevant to the topic. My best regards go to him, is child, his family, and his marriage. And as a graduate of May 2007 my regards go to my fellow classmates and teachers at JCHS. The actions of this individual has taken a toll on the whole family, Manhattan high school, AND Junction City High School. IF you are a student at JCHS you probably know who I am being that i graduated last year and am a parent, I want to say that you need to be strong and supportive for him. Set aside class room horseplay and be the students he needs to help him get through the day. As for you MS. LA CHIC, I hope you reconsider your posting.That was not necessary. I’m sure there is a distinguished difference between my comment and yours, more so, a distingusihed age difference….perhaps maturity as well……
April 10th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
how awful, Kathy was a freshman when I was a senior and I’d have never imagined her to use poor judgment such as that. I wish her the very best and it’s a real shame of the whole situation.