Improper relationship case against former Harwood Junior High counselor dismissed
This story has been updated with comment from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.
The case against a former Harwood Junior High School counselor who was accused of an improper relationship with a student has been dismissed at prosecutors’ discretion.
Shannon Hathaway faced six counts of having an improper relationship between an educator and a student during the 2016-17 school year. Judge David Hagerman declared a mistrial in the case on Sept. 28 in 297th District Court after the jury couldn’t agree on a verdict.
Jurors had voted 10-2 that Hathaway was not guilty, according to court officials.
Hathaway, 37, had pleaded not guilty to the charges, denying all claims of a sexual or flirtatious relationship with the former student who accused her. She said the man and his family members who testified against her were liars.
During the trial, a young Dallas County man who was a student at Harwood Junior High in Bedford testified 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.
In his testimony, the former student said he first had sex with Hathaway in 2016 when he, his sister and a friend of his sister spent a night at Hathaway’s home in Keller.
The young man also testified they had sex at his Euless home and made out in her office and other rooms at Harwood Junior High, making sure they stayed away from school cameras and faculty members. He claimed he decided to break off his relationship with Hathaway after his mom walked in on them in his bedroom.
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 Star-Telegram previously reported.
After Hurst-Euless-Bedford school district administrators put Hathaway on administrative leave, she said during the trial, she was advised by an United Educators Association attorney to resign rather than be fired, which she was told was the other outcome. She was arrested and charged a few weeks later after an investigation.
During the trial, after the jury had left the courtroom, Hathaway said the man and a girl three years his junior began a sexual relationship in spring 2017, the Star-Telegram previously reported. When the girl told Hathaway about it, she made a report in fall 2017. The defense said the report could have been a possible motive for the man making claims about Hathaway.
The case was dismissed on Oct. 19 with a designation of “DM14,” according to Tarrant County court records. A DM14 designation means the case was dismissed at prosecutorial discretion, although the reasons for the dismissal were not specified.
“The state agreed to dismiss the case upon the defendant permanently surrendering her teaching license. This license surrender will protect future students,” a spokesperson from the District Attorney’s Office wrote in an email.
After the mistrial, Chip Lewis, one of Hathaway’s defense attorneys, said in a email that, “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. 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.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 6:02 PM.
