Music teacher is second in school district charged after her husband reports alleged inappropriate relationship
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) — A former high school music teacher in Lawrence County is the second teacher in the school's music department to face charges for an alleged inappropriate relationship with a student.
The teacher is in jail after her husband first reported the allegations.
Olivia Ortz, 26, of Hermitage, Mercer County, is charged with institutional sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility.
Ortz worked as the choir director at Wilmington Area High School. She was suspended and later resigned from her job, the school district said.
New Wilmington police and the Lawrence County District Attorney's Office lead the investigation, which began in April. Ortz's husband, who works with the district's theater productions, reported the situation to the high school principal after finding evidence of the alleged relationship, police said.
After Ortz's husband and principal made reports with ChildLine, police interviewed the student.
The teen reported visiting Ortz's home several times, and the pair allegedly continued to communicate through apps even after they were aware of the investigation, police said.
The student's father eventually took the girl's cell phone, iPad and laptop, investigators said.
Ortz is the second music teacher in the district to face charges. The New Castle News reports that 37-year-old Jonathan Priano was accused of having inappropriate relationships with female students in June 2020.
He taught band and music at the high school. Priano also resigned and is facing more than 20 counts of institutional sexual assault, unlawful contact with minors, corruption of minors and endangerment, the New Castle News reports.
Ortz is due back in court on May 25. She is in the Lawrence County Jail in lieu of a $150,000 bond.