PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUITS

Fighting for Survivors of Student Sexual Abuse in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania schools face multiple lawsuits alleging students were sexually abused by teachers, coaches, and staff across dozens of school districts. 

Levy Konigsberg is investigating sexual abuse claims at schools across Pennsylvania, including cases involving teachers, coaches, and staff who allegedly abused students.

Schools across Pennsylvania have faced mounting legal action over the sexual abuse of students by teachers, coaches, aides, and other staff members. Cases span public and private schools, middle schools, high schools, and specialty institutions across the state, with alleged abuse dating from the 1980s through the present. Settlements, criminal convictions, and ongoing civil lawsuits reflect a pattern of institutional failures to screen, supervise, and remove employees who posed a risk to students.

Sexual abuse, especially when perpetrated by a trusted individual such as a teacher, can have profound and lasting effects.  Many survivors struggle with feelings of shame, guilt, or self-blame—emotions that should never have been theirs to carry in the first place.

If you or a loved one was harmed, contact us today.

Sex Abuse Scandals in Pennsylvania Schools

Examples of alleged abuse, and of conditions likely to lead to abuse within Pennsylvania schools, include the following:

Loyalsock Township School District

• In August 2026, the Loyalsock Township School District in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, reached a $3 million settlement with a former student who alleged the district failed to protect her from repeated sexual abuse by her middle school basketball coach, Kelli Vassallo, in 2013 and 2014.

The plaintiff alleged that school officials were aware of prior concerns about Vassallo before she was hired in 2010.

Vassallo pleaded guilty to institutional sexual assault and corruption of a minor and was sentenced in December 2018 to up to two years in jail, followed by 10 years’ probation, and was required to register as a sex offender for 25 year.

Williamsport Area School District (Williamsport Area Middle School)

• In March 2025, four former students of Williamsport Area Middle School sued the Williamsport Area School District for sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated against them by their former teacher, Christopher Yoder.  According to the lawsuit, the school district knew Yoder was “a pedophile, pervert, and a creep,” long before his arrest, and put its students at risk of sexual abuse by continuing to employ him.  Yoder was employed at the middle school, and then the high school, from 2007 until 2021 — the year he was arrested. The alleged abuse began in the 2011-2012 school year.  In 2023, Yoder was found not guilty of 21 charges related to allegedly sexually abusing a 13-year-old student in 2011.

Owen J. Roberts School District (Owen J. Roberts High School)

• In January 2025, former student teacher, Samuel Elliot, was arrested after allegedly secretly recording male students in the locker room at Owen J. Roberts High School in Chester County. Officials reported that Elliot engaged in similar activities while working as an athletic trainer at the Pine Richland School District between 2014 and 2019. Elliot was charged with multiple counts of Sexual Abuse of Children and Invasion of Privacy. 

The Perkiomen School

• In December 2024, a lawsuit was filed accusing the Perkiomen School in Pennsburg Borough of negligence in the alleged sexual abuse of a 7-year-old.  The suit claims the Perkiomen School willfully ignored multiple reports, including from the victim’s father, of doors around campus that were being left open, key-card protections that were inoperable and locks that were broken, all of which allegedly contributed to the victim’s multiple assaults.

School District of Lancaster (J.P. McCaskey High School) 

• In October 2024, the School District of Lancaster settled a lawsuit with a former J.P. McCaskey High School student who was allegedly sexually abused by former teacher Christy Lee Smith. The suit said the district failed to adequately investigate concerns about an improper relationship between himself and Christy Lee Smith. Smith was convicted in March 2014 of five sex-related crimes, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and statutory sexual assault for the abuse.

Central Dauphin School District (Central Dauphin Middle School)

• In September 2024, former Central Dauphin Middle School teacher and wrestling coach Alexander Sweigard was arrested for allegedly sending sexual images to and having sex with a student. Investigators reportedly spoke with a teenage student and went through her cell phone, finding sexual pictures of Sweigard. Sweigard was then brought in for an interview and according to  investigators, he allegedly admitted to sending the nude pictures and even encouraged the student, along with another one, to send pictures back.

McKeesport Area School District

• In September 2024, three McKeesport Area School District employees were moved from paid to unpaid leave after former security guard Alexis Brown was charged for allegedly having sex with an underage student.  In May 2023, Brown allegedly started having sex with the victim at her apartment more than dozen times.  By October 2023, an investigation revealed that five employees, including the superintendent at the time, knew about the abuse but waited five days before reporting it.

Lower Merion School District (Herriton High School) and School District of Philadelphia (High School of Creative and Performing Arts)

• In September 2024, former teacher Jeremy Schobel, who worked at Harriton High School and the High School of Creative and Performing Arts, was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment and 20 years of supervised release for an elaborate child exploitation catfishing scheme that Schobel developed to entice young teenage girls, including one who was a student at his school. According to authorities, for more than three years, and often from classrooms at Harriton High, Schobel posed as different minor girls online, creating extensive, fake profiles to deceive his underage victims into sending him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.

School District of the City of York (William Penn Senior High School)

• In July 2024, former William Penn Senior High School bilingual teacher aide, Melissa Juarez Castro, was charged after allegedly having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student.

State College Area School District (State College Area High School)

• In June 2024, former State College Area High School Spanish teacher, Cesar J. Caceres Tello, was arrested on charges of unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, and indecent assault. In December 2022, Tello allegedly touched a 15-year-old student inappropriately and made sexual comments to her while they were alone in a classroom.

Girard College

• In April 2024, former Girard College teacher and Boy Scout troop leader, Keith Steininger, was arrested for sexually abusing a student.  Steininger worked as a teacher at Girard College for 41 years before retiring in July of 2022. While at Girard College, he served as a troop leader for the school’s Boy Scout troop. Steininger allegedly abused the victim over two years, between 2018 and 2022, when the victim was 11 to 13 years old.  Steininger allegedly admitted to the sexual contact and gave the victim an apology during a phone call.

Southern York County School District (Susquehannock High School)

• In December 2023, former Southern York County School District teacher, Emily Lehneis, was sentenced to one to two years in state prison for sexually assaulting a student. Police alleged Lehneis asked to be the student’s “secret girlfriend.” The relationship went on for at least a couple weeks, according to charging documents, and the two exchanged sexually explicit photos and videos with each other.

Chester Upland School District (Chester High School)

• In July 2023, former Chester Chester High School teacher and baseball coach, Daniel Waters, was charged with more than 24 charges, 18 of which are felonies, including indecent sexual contact with minors and endangering the welfare of children.  Waters allegedly used his position to prey on at least two boys — a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old.  He also allegedly provided drugs, alcohol and a firearm to his victims.

Elizabethtown School District (Elizabethtown Area Middle School)

• In June 2023, former Elizabethtown Area Middle School teacher, Megan Carlisle, was sentenced to eight to sixteen years in state prison for sexually abusing two middle school boys in 2023. Carlisle pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, two counts of statutory sexual assault and 12 related charges stemming from her sexual contact with two middle school students. She was also charged with two counts of institutional sexual assault. Carlisle, who worked as a paraprofessional and in-school-suspension monitor at Elizabethtown Area Middle School until May 2023, allegedly performed sexual acts on the 14-year-old and 15-year-old boys and bought them gifts including vape pods and an aquarium.

La Salle College High School

• In April 2023, the Attorney General’s report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore was released naming Br. Eugene Morgan as an alleged abuser. Morgan worked at La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor, PA, from 1978 to 1985.

Before that, Morgan was at Calvert Hall College High School, where he started as the Dean of Discipline in 1966. In August 2018, a victim alleged that Morgan sexually abused him in the late 1970s at Calvert Hall. The victim alleged Morgan made the boys swim naked and, on one occasion, grabbed and fondled his genitals.

In 2019, another man alleged that Morgan would watch students strip down for swim class and make them swim naked.

Reading School District (Central Middle School)

• In October 2022, Central Middle School teacher Michael Conner Jr. from the Reading School District, was charged with sex crimes involving a 13-year-old student.  Conner allegedly sent sexual videos and photos, asked for videos in return, and drove the victim to a secluded location after school, where he sexually abused the student.

Wilmington Area School District (Wilmington Area High School)

• In May 2022, former Wilmington Area High School chorus teacher, Olivia Ortz, was charged with sex crimes for having an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old student. The student allegedly told police that she was invited to Ortz’s home in Sharon when Ortz’s husband was out of town. She told police she stayed overnight and “engaged in sexual activity,” according to the release. The student alleged she returned after that to “comfort” Ortz after her husband learned of the alleged sexual contact. When Ortz’s husband found evidence of the abuse, he reported it to the police.

Valley Day School

• In July 2021, Valley Day School teacher’s aide, Jennilynne Derolf, was charged with sex crimes for having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student.

Palisades School District (Palisades High School) and Parkland School District (Parkland High School) 

• In January 2020, former teacher, coach, and club adviser Christian Willman was sentenced for sexually assaulting six girls. Willman pleaded guilty to 10 counts related to the pervasive abuse, which began in 2005 when Willman was a teacher at Parkland High School in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, and continued for 13 years through his tenure at Palisades High School in Nockamixon Township.

In February 2026, the Parkland School District agreed to pay $6 million to three former students who alleged they were sexually abused by Willman.

Central Catholic High School

• In February 2019, reports surfaced that Rev. John O’Brien allegedly sexually abused a minor at Central Catholic High School in Pennsylvania during the mid-1960s. According to the Diocese of Pittsburgh, O’Brien’s religious name was Brother Firmilian John, FSC, at the time of the alleged abuse. O’Brien was later ordained a priest in 1975.

• In December 2018, Br. David Trichtinger was accused of allegedly sexually abusing a student while he worked as a counselor at Seton-LaSalle High School between 1985 and 1987. He also reportedly served as the academic assistant principal at Central Catholic High School from 1991 to 1995.

Mountain View School District (Mountain View High School)

• In June 2015, former Mountain View High school teacher, Megan Fae Clough, was charged with institutional sexual assault for having sex with a male student.

LK is Investigating Sexual Abuse Claims in Pennsylvania Schools

Levy Konigsberg is investigating cases of sexual abuse and assault that occurred at Pennsylvania schools.

You may have a potential claim if you were sexually abused in any of the following schools or districts:

• Central Dauphin School District (Central Dauphin Middle School)
• Chester Upland School District (Chester High School)
• Elizabethtown School District (Elizabethtown Area Middle School)
• Girard College
• La Salle College High School
• Lower Merion School District (Herriton High School)
• Loyalsock Township School District
• McKeesport Area School District
• Mountain View School District (Mountain View High School)
• Owen J. Roberts School District (Owen J. Roberts High School)
• Palisades School District (Palisades High School)
• Parkland School District (Parkland High School)
• The Perkiomen School
• Reading School District (Central Middle School)
• School District of Lancaster (J.P. McCaskey High School)
• School District of Philadelphia (High School of Creative and Performing Arts)
• School District of the City of York (William Penn Senior High School)
• Southern York County School District (Susquehannock High School)
• State College Area School District (State College Area High School)
• Valley Day School
• Williamsport Area School District (Williamsport Area Middle School)
• Wilmington Area School District (Wilmington Area High School

Catholic Schools

• Allentown Central Catholic High School
• Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School
• Bishop McCort High School
• Cathedral Preparatory School
• Central Catholic High School
• Geibel Catholic High School
• Quigley Catholic High School
• Scranton Preparatory School
• St. Theresa Catholic School

Do I Have a Case?

You may have grounds to file a civil legal action if:

• You were sexually abused by a teacher or staff at a school.
• The abuse occurred at any school.

Levy Konigsberg represents survivors in civil lawsuits that aim to hold schools accountable for their failures to stop abusive teachers and staff.

As civil claims, these cases are separate from any criminal proceedings that may arise from abuse and focus instead on holding institutions liable for damages. This means you may still have a claim even if:

• Your abuser is no longer alive.
• Your abuser was never charged with or convicted of a crime.

Recoverable Damages in Sexual Abuse Claims

In addition to providing accountability and a sense of justice, civil sex abuse lawsuits allow survivors to recover financial compensation for their damages, which may include:

• Past medical and mental health expenses
• Future mental health expenses, including therapy, medications, etc.
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish and psychological harm
• Lost income
• Other economic and non-economic damages

Pennsylvania Sexual Abuse  Attorneys

In Pennsylvania, the current statute of limitations for civil sex abuse claims is the age of adulthood plus 37 years, which means that survivors sexually abused as minors typically have until the age of 55 to file legal action, as long as they were born after November 26, 1989.

As in other states across the country, Pennsylvania’s current statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims has been criticized for barring numerous survivors from seeking justice and compensation for their damages and for failing to recognize accepted research about the considerable difficulties survivors face when processing their abuse and taking steps to come forward. Thanks to new efforts by advocates and lawmakers, however, there are now several pending measures before the Pennsylvania Legislature that seek to expand the rights of child sex abuse survivors.

These groundbreaking measures, which are expected to pass, will create new opportunities for survivors to step forward and obtain long-overdue justice. If passed, these measures would create a temporary two-year window for child sexual abuse survivors to file claims over abuse that occurred at any time in the past.

Determining the statute of limitations that applies to your sexual abuse case against a Pennsylvania school or Pennsylvania Catholic school can be challenging, which is why it is best to bring your matter to the attention of an experienced lawyer.

We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society and seeking justice for survivors of sexual abuse in schools. Our experienced team is dedicated to providing legal representation and support to survivors, and we are actively investigating allegations of abuse. We are working tirelessly to ensure that survivors have access to justice and that future generations of young people are safe from harm within these institutions.