AKRON, Ohio — A former Archbishop Hoban teacher was sentenced Tuesday to nearly a decade in prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old student.
Judge Joy Malek Oldfield sentenced 37-year-old Chad Kendall to eight years in prison, which both sides agreed to in a plea deal reached last month.
He previously pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual battery, all third-degree felonies.
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When Kendall is released from prison, he will be required to register as a Tier III sex offender and must register with the local sheriff every 90 days for the rest of his life.
“Chad Kendall took advantage of his position as an educator, caregiver, and trusted adult. He exploited the vulnerability and trust of his students, and it is thanks to the courage of the young girls who came forward that he was stopped from doing so again,” said Elliot Prosecutor Kolkovich.
Prosecutors said that between 2022 and 2025, Kendall "groomed and engaged in an unlawful sexual relationship with a student at Archbishop Hoban High School."
During that time, Kendall began grooming a second, younger student, the prosecutor's office said. The students later learned of each other and became aware that he used similar tactics on them by threatening them and telling them he would kill himself if they told anyone what happened.
The students reported what happened to the school, prosecutors said.
One of the victims read an impact statement in court.
"Instead of protecting me, he exploited me. The sexual coercion did not feel like a choice. It felt like a responsibility, especially since he was my teacher," she said. "Chad Kendall took advantage of my innocence, my trust and my vulnerability. He stole years of my life that should have been simple and safe."
Kelsey Dennis, a Summit County victim advocate, read a statement written by the other victim.
"After everything that happened to me, I truly understood what it felt like to be groomed, use and discarded," Dennis read to the court. "I have come forward not because I have something to prove, but because I never want another human to experience this amount of guilt, heartache or torment that I have suffered."
Kendall said he was sorry for what he did.
"I know all the things that I did were wrong and unacceptable. I completely understand what had led to me being here today," Kendall said.
A civil suit that names Kendall and Archbishop Hoban leaders as defendants is pending in Stark County Common Pleas Court.
