Buell receives suspended prison sentence

A relationship that a young man formed on an Oconee school field trip with an underage girl led him down the wrong path and, for that, Tyler Garner Buell apologized today in the General Sessions Court. The court allowed Buell to plead guilty to a reduced charge of assault and battery second degree. Judge Mark Hayes II sentenced the 21-year old Buell to three years in prison, suspended on the service of three days credited for time already served. Hayes attached conditions to the sentence such as the requirement that he have no contact with either the girl or her family. And, at the request of defense attorney Nick Lavery, Hayes allowed Buell to avoid the sex offender registry, provided that he successfully complete a sex offender counseling course. According to assistant solicitor Lindsey Simmons, an inappropriate relationship developed between Buell and a 15-year old girl on a field trip involving the school class of the defendant’s mother who no longer is an Oconee County teacher.