Former Bucks County guidance counselor sentenced for sexual relationship with student

A former guidance counselor at a Bucks County middle school who prosecutors said groomed a 14-year-old student into a sexual relationship was sentenced to seven years of probation Thursday.

Kelly Ann Schutte, 36, must also register as a sex offender for 15 years and have no further contact with the victim, and avoid unsupervised contact with children, according to the ruling from Montgomery County Court Judge Wendy Rothstein.

Her attorney, Antonetta Stancu, declined to comment.

Schutte pleaded guilty in February to corruption of minors for the relationship, which prosecutors said began while Schutte was working at Pennridge South Middle School in Perkasie.

The boy’s mother called police in July 2023 to say her son told her he had been in a “romantic and sexual relationship” with Schutte since the previous fall, according to the affidavit of probable cause for her arrest.

During an interview with detectives, the teen said he and Schutte began exchanging messages on Canvas, a program that school staff use to talk with students, after sitting next to each other on a school bus during a field trip.

Over the next few months, he began to spend more time with Schutte in her office at the school, leading him to miss classes, the affidavit said.

Once the school year ended, the two remained in touch via Snapchat, the boy said.

According to prosecutors, the two had sexual encounters multiple times in Schutte’s vehicle, and once in the teen’s bedroom in West Rockhill Township, and police later found one of Schutte’s earrings in the boy’s room.

Their relationship came to light after one of Schutte’s relatives walked into her home to find her kissing the teen. The boy later told his parents about the relationship.