An elementary school art teacher has the support of his colleagues, despite pleading guilty to traveling to a Leesburg hotel to have sex with two young girls.
Douglas E. Hunt faces 10 years to life in prison when he’s sentenced Friday. The support from his fellow teachers at Shepherdstown Elementary School in West Virginia came in the form of letters sent to U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis in Alexandria’s federal court.
“I have never known Doug to display any questionable behavior toward children,” wrote fourth-grade teacher Susan Loeffler. “I have never had a student complain about him. … I question the charge of ‘enticement of a minor.’ ”
Another fourth-grade teacher also weighed in. “If I asked my students about their favorite class or teacher, they overwhelmingly would say ‘Mr. Hunt,’ or ‘art class,’ ” Nancy Cline wrote.
On Dec. 3, Hunt was among several area men caught in a Craigslist-based sting run by Washington-area law enforcement. Agents posted several advertisements selling the bodies of underage girls for sex. The sting was first reported by The Washington Examiner.
Hunt admitted that he responded to a posting by a Loudoun County sheriff and a Leesburg police detective. The advertisement read: “38 female, and two daughters … looking for fun times, willing 2 please.”
Over the course of their e-mail conversation, Hunt agreed to pay $200 for an hour of sex with both girls, ages 12 and 13, Hunt admitted.
The next night, he met the detective in the parking lot of a Hampton Suites in Leesburg. She told him he couldn’t have sex with the younger one, only “mess around” with her, but could have sex with the 13-year-old. After agreeing to her demands, Hunt started walking to the hotel room and was arrested.
Prosecutors are asking Ellis to sentence Hunt to 10 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release.
“This sentence will demonstrate that adults who prey on children will be required to serve a significant prison sentence,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.
