Former Crawford County substitute teacher sentenced for fake bomb threats

CRAWFORD CO, In. (WAVE) - A former Crawford County substitute teacher was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to sending hoax bomb threats to two southern Indiana schools and a newspaper.

Court documents said 35-year-old Mary Fortner sent a bomb threat to a Milltown police officer using an anonymous messaging app on Jan. 19. The threat was aimed at a Crawford County School where she worked as a substitute teacher.

On that same day, the F.B.I. and Crawford County sheriff’s deputies talked to Fortner at her home and used a search warrant to get her cell phone and other devices, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana. Fortner denied knowing anything about the bomb threat.

The Attorney’s Office said Fortner is accused of sending an email to the Corydon Democrat, a local news outlet in Corydon, Indiana, on Feb. 21, threatening to bomb several places including Milltown Elementary School and the Corydon Cinemas.

The Harrison County Sheriff’s Department went to Fortner’s home later that evening with a search warrant and took Fortner into custody.

A U.S. District Court Judge sentenced Fortner to 10 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised probation afterward.

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