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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; More than two dozen of Robert J. Havard Jr.&#8217;s friends and family members crowded a county courtroom at his sentencing Tuesday, each waiting one behind the other to tell a judge what kind of person the former teacher and coach is.</p><p>Some spoke about how Havard helped his students make it to college. Others said he was a caring father and husband. Many acknowledged he made a mistake.</p><p>But it was the judge who had the last word.</p><p>Havard was sentenced to three to 24 months in county jail on charges that stemmed from underage drinking parties in 2008 and 2009 where Havard received oral sex from two underage Coughlin students.</p><p>Havard, 37, of Plains Township, pleaded guilty to two counts of corruption of minors last month.</p><p>Before imposing the sentence, Luzerne County Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. told Havard he was troubled by the case and struck by the educator&#8217;s careless behavior.</p><p>&#8220;You were acting at the time in question as if you were in a fraternity or something, but you were not dealing with young women who were adults and you weren&#8217;t the president of a fraternity,&#8221; the judge said. &#8220;You were a teacher.&#8221;</p><p>Defense attorney Charles Ross argued Havard was remorseful and pushed for a probationary sentence.</p><p>Prosecutor Nancy Violi and Luzerne County Detective Chaz Balogh agreed Havard was cooperative and appeared to be sorry, but said jail time was warranted because he abused the student-teacher relationship.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an absolute violation of that trust and it&#8217;s just something that shouldn&#8217;t happen,&#8221; Violi said after the hearing.</p><p>Ross noted that although Havard&#8217;s crimes cost him jobs and did &#8220;significant damage to his character,&#8221; he still has the support of his friends and family, who asked the court for leniency.</p><p>&#8220;I know he made a horrible mistake and I know he&#8217;s so so sorry,&#8221; said Havard&#8217;s wife, Kim.</p><p>Despite his crimes, Havard&#8217;s mother said she was proud of her son.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s made mistakes, I understand,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I do not condone anything, but this ate at him for years. I know what he has done for young children in the community (as an educator). I know students have gone to college with his help.&#8221;</p><p>Havard taught and coached boys soccer at Coughlin at the time of the incidents but most recently taught at Solomon/Plains Junior High School. He was hired in 2005 and resigned in November, about a month after his charges surfaced.</p><p>A witness in the case brought against Havard in October said students at a 2008 house party saw him arrive with a keg of beer and later watched him exit a bedroom where an 11th-grade girl was found nude on a bed, arrest papers state.</p><p>The 16-year-old, who had been drinking at the party, told investigators Havard took her into the bedroom and directed her to perform oral sex on him, court records show.</p><p>Additional charges surfaced in November. The victim in that case, a 17-year-old, alleged she and Havard left a house party Havard hosted at his Plains Township home in July 2009. They then walked to a nearby rock quarry where they made out and she performed oral sex on him, arrest papers say.</p><p>Havard allegedly admitted to inappropriately touching the victim and to the oral sex during an interview with investigators shortly after his arrest. He said he knew what he did was wrong and wasn&#8217;t thinking, arrest papers say, but &#8220;was flattered that people were interested in him.&#8221;</p><p>Sklarosky said that by supplying alcohol to underage drinking parties where teens&#8217; inhibitions were lowered, Havard did the exact opposite of what teachers are supposed to do and tarnished the reputations of other educators who have their students&#8217; best interests in mind.</p><p>Not imposing jail time would send the wrong message, the judge added.</p><p>&#8220;We talk about a bad mistake,&#8221; Sklarosky said. &#8220;That might be diminishing the seriousness of the crime in this case.&#8221;</p><p>Many of Havard&#8217;s supporters erupted in tears as he was led to the side of the courtroom and placed in handcuffs. His wife repeatedly shouted, &#8220;Oh God,&#8221; as she was helped out of the courtroom.</p><p>Havard offered little reaction when he learned his fate, but took full responsibility for his actions in a brief apology earlier in the hearing.</p><p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t let this hold me back,&#8221; Havard said. &#8220;I&#8217;ll use it as a motivator every day to become a better father and husband.&#8221;</p><p>Havard will be eligible for parole upon serving the minimum sentence.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Ex-teacher Robert J. Havard Jr., 37, of Plains Township, is escorted from a hearing in October after being arraigned on charges he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a minor student. He was sentenced to three to 24 months in prison Tuesday in Luzerne County Court. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_Havard-cmyk-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Ex-teacher Robert J. Havard Jr., 37, of Plains Township, is escorted from a hearing in October after being arraigned on charges he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a minor student. He was sentenced to three to 24 months in prison Tuesday in Luzerne County Court. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Family, friends ask court for leniency</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Ex-Coughlin teacher gets prison in student-sex cases