Janelle Batkins

Pre-trial date set for former teacher facing CSC charges

By Maria Allard
C & G Staff Writer 

MOUNT CLEMENS — A pre-trial hearing has been set for a former Roseville High School teacher who faces nine counts of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree for allegedly having a sexual affair with a student.

Janelle Batkins, 42, of Harrison Township is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in Macomb County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 13 before Judge Mark Switalski.

Switalski entered a not-guilty plea on Batkins’ behalf during an arraignment Nov. 19. Attorney David Griem represented Batkins during the hearing. Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Jean Femminineo, of the Sex Crime Unit, also attended.

Batkins, who is married and has two children, allegedly had intercourse several times with the student, then 17, during his senior year in 2006-07. Because the student was considered a minor during the time of the affair, his name is being withheld from the public.

The age of sexual consent in Michigan is 16, but because Batkins was in a position of authority, the third degree charges were brought against her. The Macomb County Sheriff’s Department conduced an investigation into the affair after the teen’s mother discovered their improper relationship.

The student testified Nov. 8 during a preliminary exam in 41B District Court in Clinton Township before Judge Sebastian Lucido. After Lucido heard the testimony, Batkins was bound over for circuit court. The student alleged he had sex several times at Batkins’ home and once in her vehicle on a side street in Roseville.

The student said he first met Batkins during a wrestling team trip in the eighth-grade. He became her student aide during his senior year. The pair reportedly kept in contact through their cell phones, text messages, and AOL accounts. The police seized the teen’s computer during the investigation.

Batkins, who taught French, resigned from her teaching position last summer prior to her arrest in September. In 2006, Batkins celebrated her 15th year anniversary with Roseville Community Schools. She faces prison time if convicted.