AKRON, Ohio — A 37-year-old Akron man who previously worked as a teacher at Archbishop Hoban High School pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to sexually abusing two students.
The former choir teacher and theater director, Chad Kendall, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual battery, all third-degree felonies.
Four other counts of sexual battery were dismissed.
Attorneys and Kendall agreed to an 8-year prison sentence as part of his plea. He will be officially sentenced on May 19.
The Summit County Prosecutor's Office 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 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 them to the school, prosecutors said.
"Students should be safe at school. They should be able to trust their teachers. Exploiting that trust to groom, manipulate, and abuse young students is despicable,” said Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich. “I am incredibly proud of these two girls for coming forward about the abuse they sustained from this man. Their courage has protected countless others from suffering the same fate.”
Attorney Elisabeth Jackson represents one of the victims referred to as "Jane Doe."
"It's truly devastating. We're limited as to what we can say right now, but I think any parent, family can understand that this is a horrible thing to go through," Jackson said.
Akron Police Lt. Michael Murphy said investigators determined that inappropriate communication turned into criminal behavior.
"In the beginning, it was somewhat innocent where they were texting and playing games on their phones and using Snapchat, but it took a turn when inappropriate pictures began being exchanged," Murphy said. "Those things escalated into full-on relationships."
According to a civil lawsuit, filed in Stark County, from July of 2023 to April of 2024, "Kendall solicited sexual intercourse from Jane on multiple occasions and at multiple locations, including on Hoban's campus during school hours in the the theater's backstage area."
The lawsuit also names the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland and Hoban administrators as defendants.
The suit states, "Before, during, and after Kendall sexually assaulted Jane, Hoban was on notice that Kendall engaged in inappropriate behavior with female students. Hoban failed to intervene and protect its students."
In response to the lawsuit, Chris DiMauro, president of Archbishop Hoban High School, said Hoban "will defend itself and its reputation in the face of these serious, yet unfounded allegations."
"Hoban strongly denies the allegations against the school and its administrators contained in the lawsuit. As soon as Hoban received reports of the alleged misconduct, administrators contacted the police and cooperated with the official investigation. Hoban acted swiftly in alerting the authorities and took all necessary measures to support the police and their ensuing investigation," DiMauro said.
