A substitute teacher who has worked in Lakewood City Schools since 2016 is facing a felony charge of importuning after being arrested this week, according to Cuyahoga County jail booking logs. Robert Hlavaty was booked into custody on August 26 on the felony charge, and district officials confirmed he most recently worked at Harding Middle School.
News of the arrest was first reported by Cleveland 19 News, which reported that Hlavaty faces a felony charge of importuning and that he has worked as a substitute teacher with Lakewood City Schools since 2016. Lakewood City Schools officials told the station they are unaware of any inappropriate behavior by Hlavaty with students or staff during his time with the district. The arrest was documented in booking records shared on Facebook by Cuyahoga County authorities, which list the arrest and booking date as August 26.
Under Ohio Revised Code § 2907.07, importuning covers soliciting a minor for sexual activity or using a telecommunications device to solicit sex from someone under 16 years of age or from an undercover officer posing as a minor, according to the Ohio Revised Code. It remains unclear from available records whether the alleged conduct in this case involved an actual minor or an undercover decoy, and whether any communications took place using district-issued technology — questions that have not yet been publicly answered.
What Ohio Law Says About Importuning Penalties
The stakes tied to a felony importuning charge in Ohio are steep. A third-degree felony importuning conviction can carry up to five years in prison and fines as high as $10,000, and repeat offenses or aggravating circumstances trigger mandatory prison terms and mandatory sex offender registration, according to Brad Wolfe Law, L.L.C. Depending on the specifics of a case, importuning charges in Ohio can range from fifth- to second-degree felonies, each carrying its own sentencing exposure.
A conviction under this statute also leaves a mark that never goes away. Ohio Senate Bill 288 revisions to the state criminal code specifically exclude sex offense convictions under § 2907.07 from record sealing or expungement eligibility, per the Wood County Clerk of Courts. That means a conviction, if it occurs, would remain permanently on Hlavaty's public criminal record regardless of future rehabilitation or time served.
How Substitute Teachers Are Vetted In Ohio
Lakewood City Schools requires every substitute working in its buildings to undergo a fingerprint background check, with the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation conducting those checks. The Ohio State Board of Education mandates that all substitute teacher candidates complete electronic state Bureau of Criminal Investigation and FBI fingerprint background checks dated within 365 days of initial credential issuance, and those who renew their educator license through regional educational service centers must submit updated FBI background checks every five years to keep their credentials valid, according to the ESC of Northeast Ohio.
Ohio districts and educational service centers are also required to report criminal charges or misconduct investigations involving substitute teachers to the state's Office of Professional Conduct, which can move to suspend or revoke a teaching license. The current status of Hlavaty's educator credential with the Ohio State Board of Education has not been made public.
A Middle School Community Absorbs the News
Harding Middle School, where Hlavaty most recently worked, serves roughly 446 students in grades 6 through 8 with a student-teacher ratio of about 17 to 1, according to Niche. The school is one of 13 in the Lakewood City School District, which enrolls approximately 4,314 students across Cuyahoga County.
The case follows a pattern seen elsewhere in Ohio, where task forces focused on human trafficking and internet crimes against children frequently rely on undercover digital decoy operations to identify adults allegedly soliciting minors online under this same statute, as Hoodline has reported. In August, a Springboro teacher faced a similar charge after allegedly messaging a decoy posing as a 15-year-old. Whether Hlavaty's case involved a similar undercover operation has not been confirmed.
Lakewood City Schools officials have said they are unaware of any inappropriate conduct involving Hlavaty and students or staff during his nearly decade-long tenure as a district substitute. No further details about the specific circumstances of the arrest, the alleged communications, or any court proceedings have been released.
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