A former decorated USD 232 teacher has reached a plea agreement related to charges that he tried to have sex with students.
On Wednesday, Keil Hileman pleaded guilty in Johnson County District Court to two felony counts of attempted unlawful sexual relations with students.
Hileman, a former social studies teacher at Monticello Trails Middle School who won national teaching awards during his career, appeared in front of Judge Neil Foth to enter his plea.
Originally charged in October 2022, Hileman was accused of engaging in “consensual lewd fondling or touching with a person 16 or more years old” between June 2017 and October 2022, according to court records.
At least two victims were listed in court documents.
Hileman reached a plea agreement
Originally charged with six counts of unlawful sexual relations, a level 5 felony, Hileman reached an agreement that amended two of the charges to attempted unlawful sexual relations, a level 7 felony, and dismissed the remaining counts.
Per the agreement, Hileman will serve 12 months per count, court documents stated. They would run consecutively and he would have to serve them fully, without the chance of probation.
Hileman is ordered to have no contact with the two victims or their families. He will have to register as a sex offender.
Requests for comment about the plea agreement from Scott Gyllenborg, Hileman’s attorney, and the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office were not returned.
Hileman’ teaching had earned national attention
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, detailing how Hileman’s course was based around a collection of some 50,000 historical artifacts and items.
After his firing, the course was removed from the school’s course catalog.
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.
USD 232 had no comment on Hileman’s plea.
Alvie Cater, assistant superintendent at USD 232, said in an email to the Johnson County Post, “Because Hileman has not been an employee since late 2022, the district will not provide a comment about his plea.”
What’s next
Hileman will be formally sentenced in Johnson County Court by Judge Foth at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 8. He remains on house arrest.
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