A former Olathe North High School choir teacher will spend more than five years in prison for two felony counts of unlawful sexual relations with a student.
On Friday in Johnson County District Court, Micah Horton was sentenced to 68 months in prison by Judge Thomas Sutherland for the two felonies. He received 34 months for each count. The sentences will run consecutively.
Horton previously pleaded guilty to the charges in January. A third count of sexual exploitation of a child was dismissed.
Horton was originally fired by the Olathe school board on Feb. 27, 2024, after an internal investigation. He was then criminally charged in March 2024.
Requests for comment from Olathe Public Schools and Horton’s attorney were not returned.
Horton exchanged texts with students
While working as the school’s choir director, Horton exchanged messages of a sexual nature with three female students through the social media app Snapchat.
He eventually coerced one of the students he contacted into engaging in sexual acts with him, according to a previous Kansas City Star report.
Following the texts, in late 2023, Horton pursued one of the students further, coercing her to send him explicit photos and being asked to “make out” with him on school grounds.
The student visited Horton’s Shawnee home three times, according to the Star, where he coerced her to engage in oral sex.
Olathe school board fired Horton in 2024
In February 2024, Olathe North principal Jason Herman sent out an email to families stating he had been “recently made aware of conduct in violation of board policies” involving Horton.
After being made aware of the allegations, the school placed Horton on leave and referred the matter to local law enforcement.
At a school board meeting shortly after Herman’s email, the board unanimously approved terminating Horton’s contract.
In a note that came with the vote, the board said Horton was “prohibited from accessing any property owned by the Olathe Public Schools.”
Horton was hired to work at Olathe North in 2021
Horton was hired at Olathe North before the 2021-22 school year, the Post previously reported.
Horton was named Olathe Public Schools’ Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2023, according to his now-deleted LinkedIn profile.
He was previously a vocal music and theater teacher for grades 6-12 in the Grandview school district before coming to Olathe, according to that LinkedIn profile.
What’s next for the case
Following Horton’s prison term, he will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years.
Per his plea agreement, he is also barred from having any contact with the victim.
Other Johnson County court news: Ex-Shawnee youth pastor who tried to kill family to spend nearly 30 years in prison
