TROY, Ohio -- A former Troy schools music teacher and assistant band director pleaded guilty Thursday, Sept. 4, to three misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency and unruliness of a minor.

Jared Wolfgang, 28, of Troy faces up to 18 months in the Miami County Jail at sentencing in county Juvenile Court.

A sentencing date was not set Thursday.

Wolfgang answered questions posed by Judge Lynnita "Kay" Wagner during a change of plea hearing. He was scheduled to go on trial Sept. 15.

Wolfgang was arrested by Troy police July 15 after a Meijer store employee called 911 to report an adult male "loving on" a young girl in the furniture department. Police said love letters and notes from the girl, a 15-year-old student, were found in Wolfgang's car.

Troy school officials said Wolfgang resigned in late May after he was put on leave while officials investigated complaints by the same girl's parents that he had been exchanging messages with her. Superintendent Tom Dunn said the messages were inappropriate between a student and teacher, containing "juvenile stuff," not sexual conversation.

Wolfgang had been employed by the Troy schools for one year. He previously had worked for the Newton School District, also in Miami County.

At Thursday's hearing, defense lawyer Robert Huffman Jr. said Wolfgang agreed to a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed not to file additional charges involving the girl and to recommend "an appropriate sentence."

A pre-sentence investigation will be done by the county Municipal Court Probation Department and Wolfgang will undergo a sex offender assessment, Wagner said.

Wolfgang remains free on his own recognizance on the condition he has no contact with the girl or her family and has no unsupervised contact with any minor.

(Article courtesy of www.daytondailynews.com)