Staff report

PORTSMOUTH — A former teacher in the Bloom-Vernon Local School District pleaded guilty on Wednesday to sexually abusing a minor student, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced.
Caroline Johnson, 36, who worked with kids with disabilities and coached track, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery, each punishable by one to five years in prison. She will be required to register as a Tier III sex offender for the rest of her life.
Johnson will be sentenced on Nov. 25.
Johnson was indicted on Dec. 1, 2023, by a Scioto County Common Pleas Court grand jury on three counts of third-degree felony sexual battery for allegedly engaging in sex with a minor.
The indictment came after an investigation by Yost’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation found that she had engaged in sexual activity with a minor during her employment with Bloom-Vernon Local Schools.
A warrant was issued for her arrest and she was arrested on Dec. 5, 2023, and incarcerated in the Scioto County Jail.