Former Ohio Catholic School Counselor Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Relationship with Student

Emily Nutley, 43, has been sentenced to three years in prison for having sex with a 17-year-old boy.

Emily Nutley, 43, fought back tears as she addressed Hamilton County Court, calling her actions at St. Xavier High School—where she preyed on a vulnerable teen under her care—inexcusable. "I crossed a line that should never have been crossed," said Nutley, who pleaded guilty in April to two counts of third-degree felony sexual battery.

Nutley’s victim wanted her to be handed a 10-year sentence

Prosecutors revealed Nutley engaged in multiple sexual encounters with the student in her office during fall 2023, exchanged explicit photos, paid him a monthly allowance, and even provided test answers. The victim, now traumatized, described how Nutley threatened suicide if he ended the relationship. "She preyed on the most defenseless person she could find," prosecutors wrote, initially seeking a five-year term.

The affair started in the fall semester of 2023 at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati

The fallout was swift: Nutley was fired in October 2023, her husband filed for divorce, and she lost custody of her children. A defense-hired doctor cited her struggles with mental health and substance abuse, calling her a "broken woman."

Judge Jody Luebbers imposed a three-year prison term plus five years' probation, ordering Nutley to register as a Tier III sex offender for life. The victim, who requested a decade-long sentence, said through prosecutors that the abuse "forever changed [his] life."