Tearful Teacher Pleads to Sex With Student, Gets 11 Days in Jail

Former Plainfield North High School gym teacher Ashley Blumenshine apologized as she was sentenced to 11 days in jail and 10 years on the state's sex offender registry.

A tearful Ashley Blumenshine choked out an apology between sobs after pleading guilty to having sex with a teenage student from the high school where she was a teacher. "I will forever be humbled and remorseful for my actions," Blumenshine, a former Plainfield North gym teacher, said before she was handcuffed and led away to the Will County jail Friday morning to serve 11 days behind bars. The actual sentence was 30 days but it was halved by day-for-day credit. Blumenshine already served four of the remaining 15 days before she was released on bond. In addition to the time in jail, Blumenshine, 30, was put on sex offender probation for two years and will be placed on the Illinois sex offender registry for 10 years. Blumenshine faced much …

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Court Supervision: Put it on the County's Tab

One of the four charged in the Nightmare on Hickory Street double murder case is getting $5,000 from the county for an expert witness.

One of the four young people charged with the brutal Nightmare on Hickory Street double murder case has been represented by no less than three private attorneys since she was arrested, but is now getting $5,000 to hire an expert witness. One of the three lawyers working for 18-year-old Bethany McKee of Shorewood convinced Judge Gerald Kinney that the county should cover the cost of a doctor to observe DNA testing. Prosecutors argued that McKee is being represented by private attorneys, but one of her lawyers, Neil Patel, countered that no one has established that he or his colleagues are actually getting paid. Kinney capped the county's payout at $5,000, and if McKee's lawyers want more money, they will have to appear before him and make …

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Bob

2:41 pm on Sunday, April 14, 2013

"Callahan" -- Isn't that Irish??? Like I said, I'm not polically correct.   more ›

Hitch in Former Plainfield Teacher's Sex Case Plea Deal Forces Delay

A single "issue" is holding up former Plainfield North gym teacher Ashley Blumenshine's plea deal, her lawyer said.

Former Plainfield North gym teacher Ashley Blumenshine planned to plead guilty to having sex with a teenage student but a single "issue" derailed the deal—at least for a couple weeks, her lawyer said. "It was our intention to plead today," attorney George Lenard told Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak during a brief hearing Monday morning. But "one issue" has gummed up the plea deal, Lenard said, "So we're going to need more time." After the hearing, Lenard said he could not specify what was holding up the plea. Charles B. Pelkie, the spokesman for the state's attorney's office, also declined to comment. Judge Bertani-Tomczak set an April 19 date for Blumenshine to return to court. Blumenshine, 29, was arrested in January 2011 after …

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Lawyer: Former Plainfield Teacher Will Plead Guilty to Sex with Teen

The lawyer for a former Plainfield North physical education teacher says she is ready to plead guilty next month.

Court Supervision: Not The Pedro Hernandez You Were Looking For

A New Lenox man spoke of his "horrific" ordeal in the county jail after he was arrested for a murder someone else was wanted for.

We started the week off by talking with the New Lenox man jailed for two weeks for a murder allegedly committed by someone else with the same name. Pedro Hernandez, 67, said his time in the Will County jail was "horrific," and that he's looking for a lawyer to talk to about filing a lawsuit. But Hernandez's ordeal was just one of the things going on last week. There was also: Check out all these stories and more on our Facebook page.

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Plainfield Teacher Set to Plead to Parking Lot Sex Tryst With HS Boy

The lawyer for a former Plainfield North physical education teacher says she is ready to plead guilty next month.

More than two years after she was allegedly caught in a parked car with a teenage boy she'd just had sex with, a former Plainfield North High School teacher will plead guilty, her attorney said Monday. Ashley Blumenshine, 29, was arrested in January 2011 after Plainfield police caught her in the parking lot of the Kohl's on Route 59 with a 16-year-old Plainfield North student. Both Blumenshine and the teen reportedly admitted to the police that they had just had sex and were involved in an ongoing sexual relationship. Blumenshine has been free on bond since the day after her arrest. On Monday morning, her attorney, George Lenard, told Will County Judge Edward Burmila that Blumenshine is ready to make a deal. Blumenshine will be back in …

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Plainfield Patch's Top News Stories of 2011

Shootings, beatings, teacher-teen sex, snow and population growth are the subjects of our top stories of the year.

It's hard to imagine just how many things happen over the course of a year until it's time to take a look at every story published and boil them down to a Top 5 list for the year that was 2011. These are our choices. If you don't agree with them, feel free to add your selections in the comment box below. 1 Plainfield North High School teacher accused of having sex with student. Ashley Blumenshine, then 27, lost her job as physical education teacher/coach after Plainfield police found her in a car with a 16-year-old student in January. The pair admitted to having just had sex before being discovered, police said. The case made international headlines. She was charged with felony criminal sexual assault and is awaiting trial. 2. Man shoots …

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Blumenshine Working, Doing 'Fine' as She Awaits Student Sex Case Trial

Her appearance has been changed significantly since her January arrest; no decision has been made on whether she'll seek a plea agreement, her attorney says.

Ashley Blumenshine has cut and dyed her hair, found a new job and is doing "just fine," her attorney said today following a hearing in the former Plainfield teacher's aggravated criminal sexual assault case. Blumenshine, 28, did not speak at the Will County Circuit Court hearing, at which defense George Lenard asked that her pre-trial hearing be postponed until Dec. 22. Lenard said later that they not yet decided whether to go to trial or to seek a plea agreement. There are "advantages and disadvantages to pleading guilty," he said. For the time being, he's working on a "mitigation package" and waiting to receive more items in the discovery process. Blumenshine was arrested in January after Plainfield police found her and a 16-year-old …

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Blumenshine Enters Not Guilty Plea to Student Sex Charge

Former Plainfield North teacher does not speak at court hearing and declines to comment on the case.

Ashley Blumenshine remained silent in court today, allowing her attorney to enter a not guilty plea on her behalf to charges she had a sexual relationship with an underage teen. Dressed in a pink knee-length coat and black slacks, the petite former Plainfield North High School teacher stood at lawyer George Lenard's side as the plea was accepted and a pre-trial hearing date set for March 2. Blumenshine, 27, of Lisle, was arrested Jan. 4 after Plainfield police discovered her in a car with a 16-year-old boy who attends Plainfield North. She was charged with criminal sexual assualt. A physical education and dance instructor hired by Plainfield School District 202 in 2006, Blumenshine resigned her position last week. The district has started …

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Blumenshine Resigns Teaching Position in Wake of Student-Sex Arrest

PSD202 board has directed the superintendent to begin the process of having Blumenshine's teaching license revoked.

Plainfield North High School teacher Ashley Blumenshine resigned Tuesday, two weeks after being arrested on charges that she had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student. Blumenshine's letter of resignation was accepted by the Plainfield School District 202 board, which directed the superintendent to begin the process of having her teaching license suspended and revoked. The request must be approved by the Will County superintendent of schools and the state superintendent of schools, district spokesman Tom Hernandez said in a statement released Tuesday night. Blumenshine, 27, was arrested Jan. 4 after Plainfield police found her and the student in a car parked outside the Kohl's store on Route 59. The pair acknowledged that they …

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