A former USD 232 teacher facing six felony counts of unlawful sexual relations with students has requested to be taken off house arrest.
On Friday, Keil Hileman, a former social studies teacher at Monticello Trails Middle School, appeared via Zoom in Johnson County District Court to make requests to modify his bond agreement, according to court records.
Hileman has been on house arrest since last October
- Through his attorney, Scott Gyllenborg, Hileman requested the modification because “there is no statistical risk of any contact with the alleged victims,” Mill Valley News first reported.
- The prosecution disagreed with the motion to remove Hileman from house arrest.
- Judge Neil Foth said on Friday he will make a final decision on the request once both parties have communicated via email at some point the following week (now this week).
A plea agreement is in the works, according to Gyllenborg
- During the hearing, Gyllenborg added that both parties are attempting to reach a plea agreement.
- He said the agreement will be discussed after a written evaluation report is submitted.
- Foth responded that both parties need to reach a plea agreement by Hileman’s next court appearance on Dec. 7 or the case will go to trial in 2024.
Hileman was removed from his teaching post last fall
- He was a teacher at Monticello Trails Middle in Shawnee, according to an email from USD 232 administrators sent to families last fall about Hileman.
- His alleged crimes occurred between June 2017 and October 2022, according to court documents.
- For each of the charges, Hileman is accused of engaging in “consensual lewd fondling or touching with a person 16 or more years old.”
- At least two victims identified in court documents by their initials were both students “enrolled at the school where the offender was employed” at the time of the alleged crimes, court documents stated.
Hileman was a decorated teacher in the school district
- Hileman was known for his personally designed course Museum Connections, which he taught to sixth, seventh and eighth graders at Monticello Trails.
- The museum and his course was featured in a 2018 NBC News report.
- He was named the Scholastic Kansas Teacher of the Year in 2004 and was a Lifechanger of the Year nominee in 2018, a national award aimed at recognizing educators.
Hileman’s Museum Connections course has been removed
- Over the summer, Hileman was given permission to remove personal items connected to the museum, through an agreement with Johnson County District Court and USD 232 in De Soto. During the removal, no students were present.
- Alvie Cater, assistant superintendent for communications at USD 232, said artifacts were removed from the classroom and it is being “made available for other class offerings,” according to Mill Valley News.
- Hileman’s next court appearance is Dec. 7 via Zoom in front of Judge Foth.
