Former Baltimore County teacher gets prison time for sex offenses involving former student

A former Baltimore County teacher who admitted committing sex offenses involving a teenager she had met as a student was sentenced to three years in prison Friday — substantially more than prosecutors recommended after the victim ultimately declined to testify against her.

Sydnie Haywood, 34, a former Spanish teacher at Woodlawn Middle School in Gwynn Oak, began a relationship with the girl in 2020, when she was 14, according to police. The girl had been one of Haywood’s students.

Police said the relationship began with online messaging in March 2020, as schools were shutting down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It became sexual that summer and continued on and off until early 2023, when the girl was 16.

Haywood pleaded guilty in August to nine counts of fourth-degree sex offense involving a person who was 14 or 15 years old.

She addressed Baltimore County Circuit Judge Dennis Robinson on Friday, saying she took full accountability for her actions and describing the case as an “extremely challenging situation” that was not a reflection of her character or purpose.

“And I pray, with your mercy and grace, that I am able to continue to serve that purpose in the community,” Haywood said.

In recent years, Haywood has built a faith-based online presence under the name “Sydnie Honeywood,” presenting herself as an advocate for personal transformation. She also is an author under the Honeywood name and has written a book described online as “the story of finding self-love, redemption, and the grace of Jesus Christ.”

On Friday, she told Robinson that she wanted to help people going through similar situations.

Assistant State’s Attorney Kayla York said the victim, who is now an adult, had been on an emotional “roller coaster” and was told by family members that she should take some responsibility for what happened. At one point, the young woman apologized to York for being “such a bad victim," the prosecutor said.

“It is heartbreaking that the victim thinks something this defendant did to her is her fault,” York told the judge.

With the victim ultimately declining to testify against Haywood, York was prepared to recommend a nine-year suspended sentence, which would have allowed Haywood to be released based on the time she had already spent in jail and on home detention while awaiting trial — just over a year.

“The message here should be unmistakable,” York said. “Adults who are entrusted with children have an obligation to protect them, not to pursue sexual relationships with them.”

Robinson was not bound by the state’s recommendation.

According to charging documents, the victim told police that she and Haywood met at different locations and that about 90% of those meetings involved some form of sexual interaction.

She gave investigators screenshots of photographs, message threads and receipts related to their relationship and said she and Haywood had exchanged nude photographs.

Some encounters occurred in Baltimore County, according to police. Others happened in Baltimore City.

Haywood also was accused of involving the minor in sexual encounters with an adult man in 2022. The victim told police the man knew her age and joked about being “R. Kelly.”

The victim reported Haywood to police in February 2025.

Haywood initially was charged in Baltimore County with 15 felonies: three counts of sexual abuse of a minor, three counts of sexual solicitation of a minor and nine counts of third-degree sex offense.

Haywood’s attorney, Warren Brown, asked Robinson to grant her probation before judgment.

He described what happened between Haywood and the girl as an “emotional relationship” in which they “engaged in conduct that was unacceptable to society and is in violation of the law.”

“It was a relationship,” Brown said, “a violation of the law, but it was a relationship nonetheless.”

In March, Haywood pleaded guilty in Baltimore City to a fourth-degree sex offense involving the same victim and was sentenced to time served — nine months and 12 days. That conviction also required her to register as a sex offender for 15 years.

Brown said Haywood’s incarceration had been difficult and that sex offender registration restricts where she can live and how she can move through life, particularly in relation to her children.

“It’s a scarlet letter,” he said. “It’s going to be with her for a long time.”

Brown acknowledged that the situation was of Haywood’s own making.

“We do have the right to point to the fact that she’s feeling the pain and will continue to feel the pain for her transgressions for some time to come,” he said.

Robinson rejected the defense request for probation before judgment and imposed a sentence substantially harsher than the one prosecutors had recommended.

He sentenced Haywood to nine years in prison, suspending all but three years. Haywood will be on probation for five years after her release and must register as a Tier I sex offender for 15 years.

“In an ideal world, kids would feel safest when they are at home,” Robinson said, “and school should be a close second.”

“People send their children to school every day with the hope and expectation … that their children will be safe and their teachers will play a role in helping keep them safe,” he said. “And that’s not what happened here.”