Officials learned about the suspected relationship through the boy's former girlfriend. When the boy told her he was cheating on her with a teacher, she was too upset to go to sports practice. She told her mother, who told her coach, who informed Shore Junior High School Principal Doug Baker, police said.
The initial information was vague, Llewellyn said, but school officials recognized the seriousness of the allegations. The coach then spoke to the girl, and she explained the suspected activity between Laughlin and the student in greater detail.
The school and police praised the girl for having the courage to come forward.
Laughlin was arrested Wednesday night at her Willowick home at 380 E. 329th St. She was arraigned Thursday morning on charges of sexual battery and sexual misconduct with a minor in Mentor Municipal Court.
Judge John Trebets set her bond at $200,000, which she did not post Thursday. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. June 26. Police asked for a high bond partly because she was planning to move to Michigan to be with her fiance. She already had left the Mentor School District, her first teaching job, and accepted a position at an all-boys school.
