Ex-Monroeville teacher gets suspended sentence

6/15/2005

NORWALK, Ohio A former teacher and basketball coach at Monroeville High School who was accused of making inappropriate sexual remarks to female students has avoided jail time in the case.

Shane Ash, 37, was sentenced Monday by Judge Timothy Cardwell in Huron County Juvenile Court to a suspended six-month jail term, county Prosecutor Russell Leffler said. Ash was convicted last month of contributing to the unruliness of minors in a plea bargain.

Under the plea deal, Mr. Ash surrendered his Ohio teaching certificate. Judge Cardwell placed him on probation for two years and ordered that he hold no positions of authority over children during that time. Mr. Ash also was ordered to undergo counseling.

Mr. Ash, who was head boys basketball coach at Swanton High School from 1999 to 2001, joined Monroeville as a teacher and coach at the start of the 2003-04 school year.

He was suspended in October, 2004, when the allegations surfaced and resigned in December.