North Ridgeville teacher pleads guilty to lesser charges in case attorney said resulted from 'ugly breakup'

A North Ridgeville Schools teacher charged with allegedly stalking an ex-boyfriend and stealing from him has pleaded guilty to lesser charges following a plea agreement between her attorney and Cuyahoga County prosecutors. Felony charges of aggravated theft, burglary, menacing by stalking, identity fraud and theft of drugs against Hannah Freeman were all amended or dismissed Thursday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, according to her attorney, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office and court records. Freeman, 27, of North Ridgeville, instead pleaded guilty to amended charges of possession of criminal tools, obstructing official business and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors. After a presentence investigation, Freeman will be sentenced July 17, officials and court records said. She is likely to get probation, defense attorney Mike Kinlin said. A trial had been scheduled to start Monday in Judge David Matia's courtroom. Save for a misdemeanor disorderly conduct conviction in the North Ridgeville Mayor's Court over a noise complaint at her Spencer Court residence in 2022, Freeman has no prior criminal record in Lorain County and has never been in major trouble before, Kinlin said. He said a review of the evidence Westlake police collected against his client in November showed the ex-boyfriend/fiance who accused her of stalking him and stealing his property wasn't being honest about what happened between them. Kinlin said text messages he reviewed cleared Freeman of any wrongdoing and "it was just an ugly breakup" that led to Freeman's ex filing charges against her. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Lexi Bauer also said Freeman has no prior criminal history there. "After consulting with the victim, it was determined this was the appropriate resolution," she said Thursday in an email. A fourth-grade STEM teacher at Ranger High-Tech Academy, Freeman was placed on unpaid leave Dec. 3 by North Ridgeville Schools, according to a letter in her personnel file reviewed by The Chronicle-Telegram. Messages seeking comment on her employment status were left for school officials. According to Westlake police, the alleged victim told them that Freeman followed him home on Nov. 6, 2024, broke into his unlocked car outside his Detroit Road apartment and stole two backpacks containing more than $1,000 worth of his personal property. The man told police he and Freeman had broken up the previous April and that she had continued to contact him at home and Westlake Schools, where he worked. Westlake police found Freeman sitting in a car Nov. 7, 2024, outside Lee Burneson Middle School on Dover Center Road and arrested her after the alleged victim reported she had showed up at his workplace uninvited. He also alleged she had threatened him with a knife but he never reported that to police. Hannah Freeman is the daughter of North Ridgeville Police Chief Michael Freeman. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com