DaytonDailyNews.com

TROY — A felony importuning indictment against a former Miami East schools teacher and coach accused of contacting a 15-year-old girl regarding sexual activity will be dismissed, a special prosecutor said Friday, Dec. 12.

The felony will be dropped in exchange for a plea to a misdemeanor of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Chad Widener, 37, of rural Casstown pleaded not guilty Aug. 22 to felony importuning. He was accused of taking steps Dec. 6, 2007, to "solicit another to engage in sexual conduct" with him with the victim being older than 13 but younger than 16.

He is free on his own recognizance.

Shelby County Prosecutor Ralph Bauer said Friday the felony charge will be dismissed in Miami County Common Pleas Court.

The new charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor will be filed in the Miami County Juvenile Court as part of a plea deal in which Widener has agreed to plead to the lesser charge, Bauer said.

A visiting judge will need to be appointed in juvenile court, he said. Bauer, who would not comment on the specifics of the allegations, did not know when the plea hearing would be scheduled.

Defense lawyer Jose Lopez said Friday the plea agreement is fair both to Widener and to the girl.

"I think it became very clear, as a result of the investigation, that there was no inappropriate sexual conduct that occurred between this young lady and Chad," Lopez said. "That is obviously a determining factor in why they decided to go in a different direction."

Widener resigned in August as a Miami East schools junior high teacher and girl's varsity basketball coach.

The girl's parents contacted the sheriff's office in February, complaining about electronic messages the girl received containing "sexual statements."

The parents reported they had been having issues with their daughter regarding sending and receiving "inappropriate" e-mails and text messages, so they installed a spyware program on the computer, according to the report. They said the program intercepted a text message between the girl and an unknown male that occurred Dec. 6, 2007, and contained "sexual statements" by the male, the report said.

The parents did not know who sent the messages, but the sheriff's detectives' investigation led to Widener's phone records, sheriff's officials said.

The girl was a Miami East student, but not on a team Widener coached.

Bauer was appointed as special prosecutor, and Shelby County Judge James Stevenson as judge, to handle the case to avoid the appearance of a conflict by Miami County prosecutors and judges. Widener's father, Ron, is a Miami County commissioner.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2292 or nbowman@DaytonDailyNews.com.