Former teacher gets prison

FREMONT — The high school teacher who previously pleaded guilty to felony charges relating to an inappropriate relationship with a student was sentenced to prison on Monday. Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeremiah Ray sentenced Alan "A.J." Mehlow, 32, of the 2500 block of Fangboner Road, on two amended counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and one amended count of attempted tampering with evidence, all fourth-degree felonies. Mehlow — who worked as a business teacher at Fremont Ross High School — pleaded guilty to the three amended charges on Jan. 5 in exchange for one count of sexual battery, a third-degree felony, to be dismissed. Following his guilty plea, Fremont Schools superintendent Denice Hirt confirmed that the district received a resignation letter from Mehlow and that he is no longer employed by the district. Ray sentenced Mehlow to serve three years in prison. Mehlow is additionally classified as a Tier 2 sex offender, which means he must verify his home and work addresses every six months for 25 years, according to court records. Under the terms of his sentencing, Mehlow received no credit for time served in jail and is subject to a mandatory term of five years post-release control, according to court records. Background The investigation into Mehlow began on Jan. 14, 2025, after another student reported to staff that they allegedly observed inappropriate messages exchanged between a female student and a teacher, according to a Fremont police report. Both the girl and Mehlow were pulled aside by staff until police arrived, and school staff reportedly seized the girl's tablet as well as Mehlow's cellphone, the report states. The district placed Mehlow on paid administrative leave the same day and ordered him to stay away from school property for an indefinite period, according to his suspension letter. The student and her mother met with law enforcement at the Fremont police station later that day to discuss what had reportedly been taking place, the report states. At a follow-up interview with police, the student said that she and Mehlow had engaged in sexual activity on several occasions. Fremont police obtained a search warrant for Mehlow's phone, and the student and her guardian gave police permission to search her phone and tablet, the report states. The department, with assistance from Toledo police, extracted records from all three devices. Based on the records, police allegedly found thousands of phone calls and text messages exchanged between Mehlow and the student, including one sexually explicit video, and that multiple messages on Mehlow's phone were allegedly deleted, the report states. Due to the combination of the interview with the girl and her mother, as well as phone records, Fremont police arrested Mehlow and booked him into the Sandusky County Jail on one count of sexual battery on Feb. 4, 2025.