Improper behavior leads to CSC charges, conviction for Michigan teacher

(Original Post 9-26-08)

Ranee Sue Proper, a 41 year old teacher from the Michigan town of Holly, was arraigned Tuesday on 5 counts of 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct with students in Clarkston, MI. The incidents, which involved 16 and 17 year old students, allegedly occurred between December and May, and was brought to the attention of authorities in May be a concerned parent.

Proper, who started teaching during the 2004/05 school year, was placed on paid administrative leave May 15 by the Holly School District and was ordered not to contact students or parents by Superintendent Kent Barnes.

"You are hereby directed that during the pending investigation you shall not contact students and/or parents directly or indirectly, via e-mail, phone contact or otherwise, while the investigation is ongoing. Moreover, you shall not be on school district grounds."

Barnes sent a letter June 11 ordering her to appear in his office June 19 for an administrative hearing, but Proper resigned June 25.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my employment with the Holly Area Schools. However, at this time I am choosing to resign my employment effective today, June 25, 2008." The superintendent confirmed the resignation.

"Mrs. Proper did resign while in the midst of an investigation by the local school district and the village of Holly Police."

Rumors of Proper's alleged intimate relationships with students began spreading around the high school shortly before the end of the school year, sources said."I never thought she would be one of the ones to do that," said Junior Amy Golembiowski. "She seemed normal, and I think she would have been smarter than that."Junior Emily Whitt said her sister had Proper as a teacher."She would let kids give her massages," said Whitt, 16. "I think that's very inappropriate."

Proper, who is married with 3 children, faces 15 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Released on $50,000 bond, her next appearance will be on October 24.

(Update 6-3-09) Proper pled guilty to a single count of CSC 2 (2nd degree criminal sexual conduct) on May 1. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed 5 CSC 3 counts. Unlike 1st or 3rd degree CSC, there is no mandatory minimum sentence for 2nd degree CSC. 6th Circuit Court Judge Edward Sosnick sentenced her to 9 months in the Oakland County Jail and 5 years of probation earlier this afternoon.

Proper also goes on the sex offender registry, is ordered to attend mental health counseling, and is barred from unsupervised contact with minors except her own kids.

Oakland County prosecutors were allowed to read a letter submitted by the mother of one of Proper's teenaged victims. In the letter, the mother told of the difficult times her son and family had been through as a result of Proper's action. "I'm proud of my son for telling the truth," the letter read. "He may have been a victim, but now he is a survivor."

Proper's attorney Raymond Correll said that over the last year, Proper has had strong community support, as well as the support of her husband, Tom, family members and children.
"She has significant remorse and feels very badly about what happened," he said.

Sosnick said before sentencing that deterrence of other adult-minor sexual encounters was a major part of Proper's sentence.

"You must pay the consequences of some very, very bad judgment. The best way for you to move on is to throw yourself into the counseling and begin to understand why it happened in the first place."