Oregon Teacher Convicted on Multiple Charges in High-Profile Child Abuse Case Involving Her 10-Year-Old Stepson

An Oregon teacher, whose 10-year-old stepson previously told authorities that he had been beaten with a curtain rod, starved, and forced to eat his own vomit, has been found guilty on multiple charges after previously fleeing from her home in Deschutes County in a highly-publicized case.

Thirty-three-year-old Sarah Session, together with her parents, Gary and Paula Hardenburg, appeared before Judge Alison Emerson in Bend on Thursday in a case that attracted national attention.

The Teacher and Her Mother remain in Custody in the Deschutes County Jail

All three were found guilty and will be sentenced in the Deschutes County Circuit Court on April 3. Session and her mother are in custody in the Deschutes County Jail.

Session has been found guilty on nine charges – four counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of coercion, and one count of third-degree assault.

Her mother, Paula Hardenburg, was found guilty on six charges, including second-degree assault, criminal mistreatment, and tampering with evidence.

Gary Hardenburg was found guilty on three charges, including criminal mistreatment and tampering with evidence.

The Family Hid in a Coos County Coastal Hotel

All three family members were arrested last year while hiding at a coastal hotel in Coos County. They were taken into custody by deputies of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the U.S. Marshals Service.

The case relates to incidents of ill-treatment and abuse involving Session’s 10-year-old stepson, who was hospitalized because of his injuries. She was indicted in February 2025 on 18 criminal charges, including a charge of attempted murder, which was later dropped.

Session is a licensed teacher in Oregon, in special education and English to foreign-language children. According to state records, she has been licensed since 2021 and remains so to date.