COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Gahanna woman who works as a behavioral health technician in Columbus is accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl at the facility.
Amanda Stetzer, 27, was charged on June 26 with sexual battery and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
Records from the Franklin County Municipal Court state that the alleged teenage victim said she was enrolled at The Emily Program, an eating disorder treatment facility located at 8001 Ravines Edge Court. She told detectives that Stetzer was in charge of day-to-day activities and enforcing the rules at the facility.
The teenager told detectives that on her first day, Stetzer came into her room and sat on the bed beside her. They were filling out paperwork when Stetzer had her hand on the teenager’s thigh, according to court records. Soon after, Stetzer also reportedly slapped the teen’s rear end while she was in the common bathroom.
Court records state that Stetzer and the teen exchanged phone numbers. The teen told detectives that Stetzer allowed her to stay up later than was required and let her have her phone when it was not allowed.
Stetzer allegedly sent the teen sexual text messages and naked pictures of herself through Snapchat.
The teen told detectives about two incidents where she and Stetzer met and engaged in sexual activity. The encounters happened on June 20 and June 23.
On another occasion, the teen said the two were in Stetzer’s car when Stetzer later performed sexual acts on her.
According to court documents, the teen said most of their encounters lasted about 25 minutes because “any longer, Stetzer said others would get suspicious."
Stetzer had reportedly told the teen multiple times not to tell anyone about what they were doing because she had a child and didn’t want to lose her job, according to court records.
A spokesperson with The Emily Project told 10TV that Stetzer is no longer employed at the company.
"We take this situation very seriously and are also conducting our internal investigation," the spokesperson said in a statement. The company is also cooperating with authorities on the investigation.
Stetzer appeared in municipal court Wednesday morning and was given a $100,000 bond.