BAY CITY, MI — Nearly four years after she was charged with having sex with three of her students, a former Bay City Central High School substitute teacher is free and clear.
Heidi L. Eastman — previous surname Lewis, prior to a recent divorce — appeared for her sentencing before Bay County Chief Circuit Judge Kenneth W. Schmidt on Monday, Nov. 24. The judge sentenced the 45-year-old woman to no jail time and no probation, ordering her to pay $50 in restitution.
Eastman in October pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The charge is a one-year misdemeanor.
In exchange for her pleas, the prosecution dismissed six counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a student, which is a 15-year felony.
Before learning her sentence, Eastman read from a letter she'd written.
"I finally have a voice, but at what cost?" she asked. "My attorneys and I have fought four long years for this."
She said that in that span, some good things have happened — she's become a grandmother, moved up north, fell in love with a man, and found a new job with excellent bosses. However, numerous negative things have marred her life as well, causing untold pain, she said.
"I dealt with major depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts. I attempted to take my life three times, one of which … " Eastman broke down sobbing at this point. "I was in a coma for two days. It is very difficult to try to move on with your life when your life revolves around mistrial after mistrial. I felt I could never see the light at the end of the tunnel, so for me to say I feel like I have served prison time is not a statement I make lightly."
Eastman went on to paint herself as a victim in the case and said she is haunted by the fact that she accepted a plea offer and must register as a sex offender.
"So why did I take this plea now? I looked at the one's that I love the most in the courtroom that day and I thought to myself, 'Can we all handle going through this another time?' "
Prosecutors alleged Eastman, when 41, had sex with the three 17-year-olds in the summer of 2010. Eastman had taught the teens in an emotionally impaired British literature class from January 2010 through the end of the school year.
Police began investigating Eastman in January 2011, when a female student at the school told the assistant principal her boyfriend had sex with Eastman, according to court records.
Eastman's case went to trial twice, both times ending in mistrials. The first, held in February 2012, ended prematurely due to potential jury contamination.
During the second trial, held in March 2012, three of Eastman's former students testified they had sex with Lewis multiple times during the summer of 2010.
During the trial, Eastman's previous attorney, Richard L. Lee Jr., argued that it would not be illegal for his client to have sex with the teens as she was not employed by the school and was no longer their teacher when the alleged sex began. Mid-trial, Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Jordan E. Case amended the charges against Eastman to state she was just as guilty if she were a "contractual service provider" to the school.
In light of Case's amending the complaint, Lee asked presiding Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran to declare a mistrial, which the judge did. Sheeran then recused himself from the case and Schmidt in June 2012 subsequently dismissed the charges on the grounds that Eastman was a substitute teacher not employed by the school district and the alleged sexual contact with students began once the school year ended.
Prosecutors appealed Schmidt's dismissal and in August 2013, a Michigan Court of Appeals overturned Schmidt's ruling and reinstated the charges against Eastman.
On Monday, Eastman's attorney, Bruce K. Mannikko, asked Schmidt to take in numerous factors in granting her leniency, specifically that she had no prior criminal record, that the sexual activity did not happen during the school year, and that she did not coerce the teens.
"Had Miss Lewis not been directly involved in the school system … this activity would not have been illegal in any sense," Mannikko said.
Case took issue with Eastman's depiction of herself as the victim.
"Even if we accept the defendant's version as true, it doesn't change the fact that she entered into, on her part, voluntary sexual contact with students, who she gained access to because she was a substitute teacher," he said. He requested Schmidt give Eastman probation and receive a mental health evaluation and any necessary treatment.
"The people have the position that the defendant used her position for her own selfish ends, taking advantage of students in the special education program where she worked," Case said.
Schmidt said he is very concerned about the nature of the case.
"The purpose of the statute … was to deter a teacher, who can and normally is in a position of authority and power over a student, from using that position … to induce sexual activity," Schmidt said, adding that a 17-year-old can legally consent to sexual activity. "The law, of course, prohibits a teacher from accepting such consent. In this court's opinion, there are very serious legal issues that are involved in this case. The record appears absolutely void of any undue influence by the defendant, any force or any coercion by the defendant, which is what the statute assumes when it was passed. Clearly in my opinion, it was the use of extremely poor judgment on the part of the defendant; perhaps stupidity is a better way to phrase it."
He said Eastman is going to suffer for the rest of her life with the social stigma of being a sex offender and her career as a teacher left in shambles.
However, the judge felt neither jail nor probation was appropriate. He said probation is intended to monitor and rehabilitate a defendant, but Eastman has been free on bond for years and has had no violations. Jail, he said, is intended to punish and provide an example to society.
"You're free to go, ma'am," Schmidt told Lewis.
"Thank you," she said through her tears.