A former Webster County teacher is pleading guilty to a charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Brandon Louis was the choir director at Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie. Louis admits in a plea agreement that he had exchanged text messages with a student that were sexual in nature. Haley Studyvin, a graduate of Southeast Valley, says the messages Louis sent her began arriving later and later at night.
Studyvin says her eyes have been opened to how often this sort of abuse happens, but she says it took a while before she understood what was happening to her.
Studyvin says her message to others going through similar situations is that they will be able to heal. Two years ago, Studyvin told the Southeast Valley school board she and more than 20 other students who had been victimized by the choir director. Louis resigned in October of 2020 and he was arrested in November of last year after a year-long investigation. He’s scheduled to be sentenced December 19th.
