Brycelyn Haughey. PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

A former GMG High School volleyball coach and South Tama paraeducator plead guilty to sexual exploitation last week and was sentenced.

Brycelyn Haughey, 23, of Toledo entered a written plea of guilty and was sentenced in Iowa District Court on November 10 to the charge (Count 6) of sexual exploitation by a school employee, an aggravated misdemeanor.

As part of Haughey’s plea agreement, Counts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were dismissed by the Court at cost to Haughey.

In her plea, Haughey admitted to “knowingly have sexual contact with a student for the purpose of arousing the sexual desires of me, a school employee (full time)” on or about September 25, 2020.

Following an investigation by the Tama County Sheriff’s Office and the Tama County Attorney, Haughey was arrested on Dec. 15, 2021.

Haughey was the head varsity volleyball coach at GMG High School during the 2020-21 school year and into 2021-2022 before resigning her coaching position midseason on Sept. 23. Court documents suggest, however, that the charges against Haughey were not a result of interactions she had as a coach.

Haughey was hired as a paraeducator at South Tama Elementary beginning at the start of the 2021-22 school year. Haughey resigned from her position at South Tama on Dec. 15, 2021.

According to court documents, Haughey allegedly engaged in multiple sexual acts and disseminated inappropriate images with a minor over a period of time in 2020.

Haughey is also alleged to have provided alcohol to the minor on multiple occasions.

As part of the plea agreement, Haughey was sentenced to serve 364 days in jail with credit for time previously served. All but 90 days of the sentence were suspended and Haughey was placed on supervised probation for two years.

Haughey was further ordered to register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years, pay a $260 civil penalty, pay a $25 sex offender registry fee, as well as an $855 fine – which was subsequently suspended – and victim pecuniary damages.

The temporary no contact order was terminated and replaced with a new no contact order for the victim in this case and the victim’s immediate family. The new no contact order is in effect until November 10, 2027.

Haughey was represented by Public Defender Scott Hunter of Marshalltown in this case.