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Former Crawford County substitute teacher sentenced for sending bomb threats to school

Substitute teacher sentenced for bomb threats on schools

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WISH) — A jury sentenced a former Crawford County substitute teacher to ten months in federal prison after she pleaded guilty to sending bomb threats to the school she worked at in January.

The United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Indiana made the announcement Monday.

According to court documents, Mary Fortner, 35, of Milltown, Indiana, sent a bomb threat to a police officer through an anonymous messaging app on Jan. 19. The threat, the release says, was targeted against the school she was employed at.

Later on the same day, FBI agents and Crawford County deputies interviewed Fortner at her home. They executed a search warrant, taking Fortner’s phone and other devices. Despite this, Fortner denied having any knowledge of the bomb threat.

Later, on Feb. 21, Fortner sent an email to a local news outlet in Corydon, Indiana. In the email, Fortner threatened to bomb several locations, including Milltown Elementary School and the Corydon Cinemas movie theater.

Harrison County sheriff’s deputies executed another search warrant on Fortner and took her into custody. FBI agents determined that Fortner sent the threat “from a mobile device that had been factory reset in an attempt to conceal the crime.”

Fortner was also ordered to serve three years probation and two months of house arrest after she completes her prison sentence.