Former Baltimore teacher pleads guilty to sex charges involving former student

A former teacher at Woodlawn Middle School in Baltimore pleaded guilty on Monday to sex offenses involving a former student. 

In Baltimore County Circuit Court, 34-year-old Sydnie Haywood admitted to nine counts of fourth-degree sex offenses. 

Haywood, of Pikesville, Maryland, was a Spanish teacher at Woodlawn Middle School. The charges relating to sexual abuse and exploitation involved contact she had with one of her students who was between 14 and 16 years old at the time. 

Assistant State's Attorney Kayla York said that during the 2019-20 school year, Haywood asked if she could follow the student on Instagram, our partners at the Baltimore Banner reported. 

Later, Haywood began sending the student private messages. The two then started spending time together outside of school, and there was "some form of sexual interaction" 90% of the time, York said.

School investigation ended teacher's employment

At one point, Haywood's husband became suspicious about the situation and followed the two to an Airbnb and later contacted the police. Baltimore County Public Schools also conducted an internal investigation and determined that Haywood was "no longer eligible for employment," York said.

Authorities said the sexual abuse took place in both Baltimore and Baltimore County. Prosecutors did not ask for additional jail time. Instead, they recommended that Circuit Judge Dennis Robinson Jr. sentence Haywood to five years' supervised probation and order her to register as a sex offender for 15 years.

Earlier this year, Haywood pleaded guilty in Baltimore Circuit Court to one count of fourth-degree sex offense in a related case and was sentenced to no additional time in jail. She spent more than nine months incarcerated.

Haywood remains free on home detention while she awaits a sentencing hearing set for September 18.