Former Hazleton Area vice principal James Hudock leaves the Luzerne County Courthouse Thursday after being sentenced for having an inappropriate relationship with a student.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
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WILKES-BARRE — Former Hazleton Area administrator James Hudock was sentenced to state prison Thursday for having an inappropriate romantic relationship with a female student.
Hudock, 61, of Butler Township, appeared before Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough who sentenced him to 18 months to three years in prison on charges of institutional sexual assault of a minor and corruption of minors. Hudock pled guilty to the charges Feb. 27.
Hudock must also register his address as a sexual offender for 15 years under the state’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Sugarloaf Township police charged Hudock, a vice principal in the Hazleton Area School District, in June 2022, following a near year-long investigation.
Court records say Hudock had a romantic relationship with the student from the end of the school year in June 2021 to the early part of September 2021. The girl and Hudock instant messaged one another by phone through the Snapchat app so he could stay in touch with her over the summer, and also played tennis at a park and went for walks.
Hudock gave the girl gift cards for Starbucks and Rita’s Italian Ice as well as candy and a key chain. They kissed at least 10 times including twice in the back seat of his vehicle, court records say.
Police initiated the investigation after receiving a Childline report from the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.
Police filed the charges against Hudock after the girl was questioned by a forensic interviewer at the Luzerne County Children’s Advocacy Center in Wilkes-Barre.
Hudock resigned from his school position on Sept. 14, 2021, the same day he was confronted by school officials.
Assistant District Attorney Shana Messinger from the district attorney’s Special Victims Unit prosecuted.