Montco Schoolteacher Charged in Sexual Relationship With Student, 17
By Brad Segall
EAGLEVILLE, Pa. (CBS) -- Authorities in Montgomery County, Pa. have arrested a 43-year-old high school English teacher on charges that he had an explicit sexual relationship with one of his female students during the 2009-2010 school year.
Prosecutors say teacher Sean McCullough carried on an intimate sexual relationship with the girl during her senior year at Methacton High School, while she was just 17 years old.
Court papers detail explicit sexual communications by e-mail, text messaging, and Facebook, along with kissing and fondling.
Montgomery County DA Risa Ferman says the Collegeville man was the girl's teacher during her freshman through senior years at the school.
"It certainly appears from the communications we found that he knew her for an extended period of time and watched her grow, admired her perhaps from a distance and began grooming her at a certain point in time."
Ferman says it appears that McCullough knew what he was doing was wrong. There's a communication that references a newspaper article he read about harsher penalties for student-teacher relationships and he says he "started to think too much."
The charges include child endangerment, corruption, and possession of child pornography.
The Methacton School District released this statement on Thursday:
"Recently, the Methacton School District was informed that Methacton High School teacher Sean McCullough was arrested and charged with alleged misconduct related to a relationship with a student.
"The safety and well-being of our students is our primary concern at all times. The District moved quickly to place this individual on administrative leave and is cooperating fully with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and the Lower Providence Police Department.
"We appreciate our community's understanding with regard to the need for confidentiality whenever matters of personnel are involved. Our primary focus will be the needs of our students and families; and we refer any questions about the investigation and allegations to the office of the district attorney."
