LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — An employee of a Christian group home sexually assaulted and became pregnant by a teenager who state officials placed there, a prosecutor said.

Carolynn Hatcher, 25, of Fort Wayne, Ind., was indicted on six counts of sexual battery. She posted $30,000 bond and was released Monday from the Warren County Jail.

Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel said the 16-year-old boy was released from Department of Youth Services detention and in September placed him at the Mid-Western Children’s Home in Pleasant Plain. Police said Hatcher had a sexual relationship with him in April and May.

Hatcher worked as a housemother and teacher at the home for about a year. Another child reported the affair, Hutzel said.

The facility fired Hatcher last month. The boy has run away, officials said.

“It’s heartbreaking and a tragedy all the way around,” said Mike Fox, executive director of Butler County Children Services. “I promised to tell the truth, and this is one of those unbelievable, ugly truths that happen in the world of child welfare.”

The boy’s disappearance creates an unusual dilemma for officials. They don’t think they can enlist the public’s help to find him because that would require making his identity known.

“Is it really in his interest to put his picture on the 6 o’clock news and tell people, ‘If you see this kid, call us’?” Fox said. “Right now, the answer to that question is ‘no.”‘

A Warren County indictment released Monday accuses Hatcher of six counts of sexual battery, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

 

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