Kelly Ann Schutte (Credit: Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office)
Kelly Ann Schutte, a former guidance counselor at Pennridge South Middle School in Bucks County, admitted to having sexual contact with a 14-year-old male student.
Schutte pleaded guilty to felony corruption of a minor of a sexual nature in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday, for incidents that occurred between September 2022 and July 2023, per the report and court records.
The victim, a student at the school, met Schutte in her role as a guidance counselor. Assistant District Attorney Caroline R. Goldstein said that Schutte groomed the child for months before initiating sexual contact.
Goldstein said that Schutte violated every level of trust and preyed on the child, per the report.
Under the plea agreement, Schutte will face seven years of probation.
She will also be evaluated by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board to determine if she meets the criteria to be classified as a sexually violent predator, prior to sentencing. If she has to register, then Schutte has to report her address to state police for 15 years to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, previously known as Megan’s Law.
Those classified as predators face more stringent restrictions while on probation.
Additionally, Schutte must undergo a psychosexual evaluation and comply with all treatment recommendations.
The plea agreement, supported by the victim’s family, ensures that Schutte will never work in a school setting again. Goldstein said that this prevents Schutte from having easy access to children and protects other students from potential victimization, per the report.
Last year, the state Department of Education suspended Schutte’s certificate and eligibility to be employed as a school staff member.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein made it clear to Schutte that she is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with minors, except for her biological children, according to the article.
Schutte accepted the plea agreement one week before she was slated to face a jury trial on the charges.
You can read more about the case here.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
