Former Superintendent Laura Amero, formerly of Austintown, Ohio, is taking a sexual assault case to the Ohio Supreme Court

RAVENNA, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio school principal convicted of sexually assaulting students is taking her conviction to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Laura Amero, originally from Austintown, pleaded guilty in November 2019 to sexual assault and sexual assault in connection with sex acts involving teenage students.

Amero was sentenced to 10 years in prison in February 2020, but appealed her conviction to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. She was pregnant at the time and her sentence was suspended pending her appeal, which was rejected on March 18, 2024.

Amero was admitted to the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville on April 17, 2024.

She appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, asking the panel to grant her a stay of her sentence and to continue her $350,000 bond and electronic monitoring while the appeal is heard, but the court denied the request .

Amero says in her appeal that her sentence was too harsh for the crimes to which she pleaded guilty. However, the appeals court said her actions were egregious and that she manipulated students and abused her power as an authority figure, causing lifelong trauma for her victims.

Amero was a teacher and principal before becoming superintendent of Windham Exempted Village Schools. She was placed on leave by the district and then resigned after charges were filed against her.