Quantcast
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 52491

DA: Lakeland teacher had sex with student

A 31-year-old Lakeland High School band teacher surrendered himself to the Lackawanna County district attorney's office Tuesday morning to face charges that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student last year.

Matthew Stevens' attorney, Joseph D. Caraciolo, said his client "absolutely denies" a former student's claim to authorities that a series of "flirty" text messages between her and Mr. Stevens on New Year's Eve 2011 sparked an escalation in their relationship from that of student and mentor to sexual partners, as the charges against him hold.

"This is not a criminal. …this is a person who's been wrongfully accused," Mr. Caraciolo said after Mr. Stevens' arraignment on charges of institutional sexual assault, corruption of minors and contact with a minor - sexual offense.

The charges arose when the former student, now enrolled at a university outside of Lackawanna County, told authorities that during her senior year she participated in the school band and became "very close" to Mr. Stevens, according to a criminal complaint filed by Lackawanna County Detectives Justin Leri and Michelle Mancuso, with Scott Twp. Police Chief James Romano.

But their relationship became intimate one day in January 2012, when she and Mr. Stevens were in his office sorting through paperwork. At one point their faces became close and Mr. Stevens kissed her. As the relationship continued their contact escalated to Mr. Stevens touching the student and the two performing oral sex on one another, according to the complaint.

For nine months, the incidents would occur two to three times a week, most often on school property but occasionally in Mr. Stevens' home, said Lackawanna County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer McCambridge.

The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.

After the victim's disclosure, investigators recorded a one-hour phone conversation between her and Mr. Stevens during which he acknowledged their sexual relations.

As Mr. Caraciolo argued for lower bail for his client Tuesday, Mr. Stevens' 18-month-old son called out for his "Daddy" repeatedly from the arms of his mother, who sat with about 10 family members present for the arraignment.

Magisterial District Judge Paul Ware ultimately sided with the prosecution on the matter of bail and sent Mr. Stevens to Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Judge Ware also ordered that Mr. Stevens stay off of school property as a condition of his bail.

Lakeland Superintendent Margaret Billings-Jones, Ed.D., said the district is following its "administrative procedure" in light of the charges against Mr. Stevens and that "standard procedure in a matter like this is a suspension … without pay."

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday.

Mr. Caraciolo questioned the validity of the recorded phone call referenced in the affidavit against Mr. Stevens on Tuesday, expressing doubt that it would ever be heard.

"I'd love to see the proof, because right now what we have is the two of them never being alone, the two of them never being in a situation where anything could occur and a very extremely upstanding person," he said.

Ms. McCambridge characterized Mr. Stevens differently in comments made after his arraignment, pointing out that "his position as a teacher puts him in a special place in terms of the community and the students he supervises."

"Clearly we feel that he abused that position," she said. "School is a place where students should go to feel safe, to learn, to expand their horizons and not have to deal with this type of behavior."

Where Mr. Caraciolo questioned the integrity of the victim's allegations, Ms. McCambridge said investigators "have no reason to doubt her story" and added that the investigation has already uncovered "lots of corroborating evidence."

"With these type of cases, the investigation will remain ongoing until every stone is turned over," she said when asked about the possibility of additional victims.

Contact the writer: domalley@timesshamrock.com, @domalleytt on Twitter


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 52491

Trending Articles



<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>