COLUMBUS, Ohio — A South-Western City School District middle school teacher has been charged for allegedly having sex with one of his teenage students for several years.
According to a criminal complaint, a student told police her teacher, track and basketball coach, Benjamin Rutan, had sex with her multiple times with her between 2013 and 2019.
Rutan is listed as a seventh- and eighth-grade language arts teacher at Norton Middle School on the school's website.
In June 2013, the criminal complaint says Rutan, who was 31-years-old at the time, started having sex with the victim when she was 14-years-old and helping with the school's football team that summer.
During an interview with a detective last month, the victim said the two had sex multiple times a week until she was 19 at various locations on the middle school's property and in Franklin County.
The victim was given a recording device by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office on Dec. 2. She contacted Rutan and he gave several admissions during their conversation about their relationship between 2013-2018.
Rutan is charged with two counts of sexual battery and one count of unlawful conduct with a minor, all of which are felonies. His bond was set at $50,000 on Thursday.
In an emailed statement to 10TV, Superintendent Bill Wise wrote:
"Today (Wednesday, December 8, 2021), we learned one of our teachers was taken into custody by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office for alleged sexual misconduct matters involving a former student. We are working in full cooperation with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. As soon as we were made aware of the charges, the district placed the teacher on administrative leave, pending an investigation. The safety and security of our students are our top priority. We will continue to work through our disciplinary and legal processes regarding this matter."