Story HighlightsFormer Parkview Middle School mental health worker accused of grooming student in JeffersonvillePolice say counseling sessions escalated into hours-long daily meetings outside normal scheduleStudent’s family files tort claim against Greater Clark County Schools and Centerstone
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) — A former mental health worker assigned to a Jeffersonville middle school is accused of grooming a student she was counseling, according to court records filed in Clark County.
A probable cause affidavit filed by the Jeffersonville Police Department accuses Audrey Hughes, a former mental health worker assigned to Parkview Middle School, of engaging in an “inappropriate and exploitative relationship” with a minor student during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.
According to investigators, the student first began seeing Hughes while in seventh grade through Centerstone Children and Family Services, the company contracted by Greater Clark County Schools to provide counseling to Parkview students.
Police said the student was originally scheduled for weekly 45-minute sessions with Hughes before the meetings allegedly escalated into hours-long daily interactions. The student spent extensive time alone with Hughes in a private counseling room and missed significant class time, the affidavit said.
Olivia Dunn, the mother of the student, said she became concerned after learning how much time her child was spending away from class.
“Didn’t have answers for any of my questions about where my child was during these hours of missing class,” Dunn said. “Nobody told me.”
According to the affidavit, the student told investigators the relationship evolved beyond counseling sessions and included prolonged unsupervised meetings, physical contact, gifts and “sexualized conversations.”
The affidavit also alleges Hughes encouraged the student to conceal parts of the relationship from parents and others while the student became “emotionally dependent” on her.
Dunn’s called the school resources officer at Parkview after the child told her about the incidents, which prompted the investigation.
Charges against Hughes were filed on December 29, 2025, but Hughes was not arrested until May 5 of this year.
Hughes faces a Level 5 felony child seduction charge and a Level 6 felony dissemination of matter harmful to minors charge.
A judge set Hughes’ bond at $150,000 cash and ordered her to have no contact with the student. She is currently out on bond pending trial.
Dunn has since filed a tort claim against Greater Clark County Schools and Centerstone, saying she wants answers as to why no one intervened sooner. Larry Wilder, the attorney who is representing the family, said the school appears to have little documentation explaining the extended counseling sessions.
“There are no records of what was happening when her child was taken into this room in that school and spent hours with this individual charged with the crime,” Wilder said. “There’s no way to know because there are no records.”
Wilder also questioned the oversight of contracted counselors working inside schools.
“The school didn’t demand that their contract employees were accountable for anything,” he said.
Centerstone employees at the organization’s Jeffersonville office referred questions to another office for comment. Attempts to contact Hughes and her attorney were not successful.
Great Clark Superintendent Mark Laughner said the district has not received formal legal notice related to the allegations.
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