Former Pennsylvania teacher pleads guilty to sexual assault of student
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Authorities said a former high school teacher in Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to charges related to an "inappropriate relationship" with a student.
The Southern York Regional Police Department said Emily Lehneis pleaded guilty on Sept. 20 to institutional sexual assault — school involving a student — and corruption of minors. In a release, the department said the charges stemmed from "a 6-month investigation into Lehneis' inappropriate relationship" with the student. She is scheduled for sentencing in December.
According to CBS 21, Lehneis was a teacher at Susquehannock High School in the Southern York County School District in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania.
The station reported police were alerted to a possible sexual relationship between the teacher and a 17-year-old student on Jan. 23. The victim reportedly told police she was on the school's soccer team and Lehneis coached soccer, and they had private lessons at the school. According to records from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, she coached in the South Western School District.
The victim also told police, according to CBS 21, that Lehneis kissed her and she was not OK with being kissed by the 30-year-old teacher, telling police she never thought her first kiss would be from a teacher. The victim reportedly said the two exchanged explicit videos and photos. The victim added that Lehneis asked her to be her secret girlfriend in October 2022.
Lehneis worked as a special education teacher at the high school and resigned from the district on Jan. 27, Penn Live reports. The Pennsylvania Department of Education's records show her certification was suspended in August.
