by Dorothy Markulis
Reporter
Hudson -- A former Western Reserve Academy math teacher was found guilty April 1 of communicating sexual acts on the Internet with what he thought was a 12-year-old girl, according to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason.
A jury found Howard A. Kaplan, 58, guilty on eight counts of importuning, one count of importuning and one count of possessing criminal tools.
Kaplan's attorney, William E. Gerstenlager, declined to comment on the verdict.
Kaplan was arrested Aug. 23, 2007, by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department, assisted by the Hudson Police Department.
The 12-year-old was actually a member of the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Kaplan was arrested at the home he shared with his wife on the WRA campus.
According to WRA Headmaster Henry E. Flanagan Jr., he accepted Kaplan's resignation after the arrest.
Ball set sentencing for April 29 at 9 a.m.
E-mail:
dmarkulis@recordpub.com