Judge declares mistrial in sex abuse case against former Harwood Junior High counselor
A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday morning in the sexual abuse case against a former Harwood Junior High School counselor accused of having sex with a student several times during the 2016-17 school year.
Judge David Hagerman made the announcement when a Tarrant County jury of eight men and four women were deadlocked Tuesday after a day of deliberations.
Jurors had voted 10-2 that the defendant was not guilty, according to court officials.
Shannon Hathaway faced six counts of improper relationship between an educator and a student.
If she had been convicted, Hathaway, 37, of Keller, faced a maximum of 20 years on each charge and a $10,000 fine.
“Mrs. Hathaway and her family are extremely grateful for the tireless effort and attention the jury gave this case as well as the incredibly fair trial Judge Hagerman provided,” said Chip Lewis of Houston, one of Hathaway’s defense attorneys, in an email. “While we wish the jury could have reached a verdict. We recognize this was a tough case and hope the State can fully appreciate the jury’s message.”
Steve Gebhardt and Andrea Townsend, both of Fort Worth, also were Hathaway’s defense attorneys.
Prosecutors Peter Gieseking and Bill Vassar could not be reached on Tuesday for comment on the mistrial or if they intended to retry the case.
On the witness stand during her testimony Friday, Hathaway denied allegations that she had a sexual relationship with a former student.
A young Dallas County man who was a student at Harwood Junior High in Bedford testified Thursday that he had sexual intercourse with Hathaway when he was 17. The alleged incidents came up when the now 21-year-old man’s sister alerted two school officials in May 2018.
After Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district administrators put Hathaway on administrative leave, she said, she was advised by a United Educators Association attorney to resign rather than be fired, which she was told was the other possible outcome.
Hathaway was arrested and charged a few weeks later after an investigation. Since then, she said, the last three years have been difficult for her and her family.
The former student said he first met Hathaway at Harwood Junior High in the winter of 2016 when she took him into her office and said he was at risk of failing the ninth grade, the Star-Telegram previously reported.
In his testimony, he said he first had sex with Hathaway at her Keller home in 2016 when he, his sister and a friend of his sister spent a night at Hathaway’s home. During Hathaway’s testimony, she said she had given birth to her first-born children, twins, by C-section in February 2016, breastfed them and would tuck them into bed at night.
The young man also testified they had sex at his Euless home and made out in Hathaway’s office and other rooms at Harwood Junior High, making sure they stayed away from school cameras and faculty members. He testified he decided to break off his relationship with Hathaway after his mom walked in on them naked in his bedroom.
Hathaway denied all claims of a sexual or flirtatious relationship with the former student Friday and said the man and his family members who testified were liars.
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 at 11:47 AM.
