Former Austintown trustee and Poland Schools resource officer Steve Kent has been released from jail Tuesday after an appeals court issued a stay in his case.

Steve Kent was released from the Mahoning County Jail after the Seventh District Appeals Court granted a stay in his case.

Kent was sentenced to a year in jail after being found guilty of tampering with evidence in the case involving a former Poland student. He was acquitted of three other charges including sexual battery.

The filing says Kent would serve all or a significant portion of his jail sentence before the appeal could be concluded, impairing his right to a direct appeal.

The court placed a $12,500 bond on Kent, who has since bonded out of jail.