Pennsylvania School Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

Seek Justice and Compensation for Sexual Abuse at Pennsylvania Schools

Dozens of Pennsylvania school sexual abuse lawsuits have been filed, exposing how numerous school districts failed to adequately address predators in their ranks. Injury Lawyer Team is here to fight for sexually abused school children, ensuring that they receive justice for the lifelong trauma they may face. Contact us today for a confidential and free consultation about your legal rights. 

Allegations of Childhood Sexual Abuse at Pennsylvania Schools

Sexual abuse lawsuits involving schools hold school districts liable for failing to protect children from sexual abusers. Hundreds of victims have come forward, forcing both the Pennsylvania legislature and the education system to take action. These are only some of the many civil claims forcing educators to address the abuse occurring across the state. 

Central Catholic High School

Multiple Pennsylvania clergy accused of abuse used Central Catholic High School as a hunting ground. First, in December 2018, Br. David Trichtinger was accused of sexually abusing a student while serving as a high school counselor. Trichtinger worked at Seton-LaSalle High School from 1985 to 1987, then served as an assistant principal at Central Catholic High School from 1991 to 1995.

More Pittsburgh clergy abuse lawsuits were filed regarding Rev. John O’Brien, who passed away in 2004. He taught at the high school in the 1960s under the religious name Brother Firmilian John, FSC. He was later ordained as a priest in 1973. 

Central Dauphin Middle School (Central Dauphin School District)

Central Dauphin Middle School teacher and wrestling coach Alexander Sweigard was arrested in September 2024 for multiple counts of sex abuse, including sexual contact with a minor and disseminating photographs of sexual acts with a child. 

Sweigard’s alleged abuse included sending explicit photos of himself to a teenager and encouraging her to send pictures in return. He also admitted to having sex with an 18-year-old student at the high school, claiming that he thought it was fine because she was of age. 

Central Middle School (Reading School District)

A Reading sexual abuse lawsuit was filed in October 2018 after middle school teacher Michael Conner Jr. was arrested for sex crimes involving a 13-year-old girl. According to reports, he both sent and received communications of a sexual nature, including texts and explicit photographs. Later, he drove the child to a secluded location and sexually abused her. 

Chester High School (Chester Upland School District)

Former teacher and baseball coach Daniel Waters allegedly abused at least two boys, but officials claim there may be more victims. Waters reportedly groomed the young men by offering them drugs and alcohol. He also provided one of the boys with a firearm as a gift. 

Elizabethtown Area Middle School (Elizabethtown School District)

Former middle school employee Megan Carlisle will spend eight to 16 years in jail for preying upon two male students. Carlisle worked as a paraprofessional at the Elizabethtown Area Middle School when she allegedly performed sexual acts on the 14-year-old and 15-year-old boys. According to reports, she provided the victims with gifts, such as vape pens and an aquarium, in exchange for sexual favors. 

Carlisle’s family attempted to gain sympathy by claiming that she was under stress due to her daughter’s illness, but prosecutors reminded the court that emotional distress is not an excuse for sexual abuse. 

Girard College

The current Girard College sexual abuse lawsuit centers around Keith Steininger, who worked at the college for 41 years before retiring in 2022. In January 2024, a foster parent called Upland Borough Police to report that their foster son had been sexually abused by Steininger between 2018 and 2022, when he was between 11 and 13 years of age.

Steininger had served as the college’s Boy Scout troop leader, giving him access to young boys. The survivor reported that Steininger touched him in his private parts while the boy was staying with him. 

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

In September 2024, former Jeremy Schobel was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 20 years of supervised release for an elaborate child exploitation scheme. Schobel worked at Harriton High School in Lower Merion Township, PA, and the High School of Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia. 

According to Philadelphia sexual abuse lawsuits, Schobel created elaborate and extensive fake profiles of teenage girls. He would then use these to reach out to minors online, urging them to send explicit photos and videos of themselves. At least one of the victims was his student, and he regularly managed his catfishing accounts from Harriton High School itself. 

J.P. McCaskey High School

The Lancaster School District settled a suit filed by a former student who was sexually abused by former teacher Christy Lee Smith in 2008. The suit, originally filed in September 2016, dragged on until October 2024, right before a trial was to take place.

Smith was convicted in March 2014 of five sex crimes related to her inappropriate relationship with the 15-year-old sophomore. According to court documents, the victim’s grandmother had raised concerns about Smith’s behavior, but the school district failed to intervene.

La Salle College High School

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s extensive report into abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore named Brother Eugene Morgan as one of 156 clergy members who collectively abused over 600 victims. 

According to a 2018 Pennsylvania clergy abuse lawsuit, Morgan molested a boy while working at Calvert Hall College High School in the 1970s. He would force the schoolboys to swim naked before grabbing and fondling their genitals. Another man came forward in 2019 to echo these complaints, stating that Morgan would watch the boys strip for swim class or force them to swim naked.

After working at Calvert Hall, Morgan worked at La Salle College High School from 1978 to 1985. 

McKeesport Area School District

In September 2024, three McKeesport Area School District employees were placed on unpaid leave following a sex abuse scandal involving a school security guard. Alexis Brown, a security guard, had sex with an underage student at least 10 times starting in October 2023. 

Investigations revealed that at least five school district employees were aware of the inappropriate relationship but chose to take no action, including Superintendent Tia Wanzo. Following the uproar, Wanzo resigned.

Mountain View High School (Mountain View School District)

Megan Fae Clough, a high school teacher at Mountain View High School, was arrested in June 2015 for having sex with a male student. Authorities did not release further details about what the institutional sexual abuse involved or how they were alerted. 

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

In January 2025, former student teacher Samuel Elliot was arrested for allegedly recording male students in the locker room at Owen J. Roberts High School. According to officials, he was previously employed by Pine Richland School District from 2014 to 2019, where he engaged in the same abusive behavior in both high school locker rooms and middle school bathrooms. 

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

Christian Howard Willman, a former high school teacher and soccer coach, was sentenced to six to 12 years in state prison and 25 years of registration for sexually abusing at least six girls at two separate school districts. According to authorities, Willman began abusing students in 2005 while working at Parkland High School, and the behavior continued for the next 13 years, even after moving to Palisades High School.

According to the Allentown sexual abuse lawsuits, Willman would start by grooming the girls, treating them as if they were special. The alleged abuse would begin sometime around their sophomore year and continue until graduation. Throughout the process, he would isolate them from their friends and family, exploiting their insecurities to keep them quiet. 

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

Cesar J. Caceres Tello was arrested in June 2024 for indecently assaulting a girl in December 2022. According to the survivor, who was 15 at the time, she was left alone in the classroom with Tello after she paused to text a friend before going to lunch. Tello proceeded to close the blinds and sit uncomfortably close to her while asking her sexual questions. 

The girl alleged that she was afraid and started to cry, after which time Tello started touching her. Tello allegedly tried to discourage her from speaking about the incident, but another teacher intervened and reported the incident on the girl’s behalf. 

Susquehannock High School (Southern York County School District)

In December 2023, former teacher and soccer coach Emily Lehneis was sentenced to one to two years in state prison for sexually assaulting a teenage girl. The teen met Lehneis at the beginning of the school year in 2022, when Lehneis offered to provide private soccer coaching. 

Sometime in September, Lehneis kissed the girl in a classroom before offering to be her “secret girlfriend.” Lehneis also pressured the teen to provide explicit pictures and videos. 

The Perkiomen School (School District of Lancaster)

A civil suit filed against the Perkiomen School in December 2024 alleges that the prestigious boarding school failed to protect a seven-year-old from a 12-year-old. The Perkiomen School allegedly ignored multiple complaints, including those from the victim’s father, regarding open doors, inoperable keycards, and broken locks, which were deemed a major safety concern.

At the time of the assault, the young schoolchild left a basketball game to get a drink of water. When the seven-year-old failed to return, their parent searched and found them in a state of undress with an older boy. 

Valley Day School

Jennilynne M. Derolf, a teacher’s aide at this Falls Township school, was charged with multiple felonies for sexual contact with a minor in July 2021. The sexual abuse began in June 2021, after the two had exchanged messages on a messaging app and met up at Falls Township Park. According to the unnamed 14-year-old, the two had sexual intercourse at least three times in July before he reported the abuse to the authorities. 

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

Melissa Juarez Castro was charged with sexual abuse in July 2024 after having sexual contact with an 18-year-old student. Castro was hired by the school district in 2023 as a bilingual teacher’s aide, where she began pursuing a relationship with one of the students for whom she provided translation services. 

The victim alleged that the sexual abuse began in October 2023, when the two messaged outside of school hours. They had sexual intercourse multiple times before the relationship ended in April 2024. 

Williamsport Area Middle School (Williamsport Area School District)

Four former students sued Williamsport Area Middle School for failing to protect them from Christopher P. Yoder. Though Yoder was found not guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, the four female students allege that the school district knew Yoder was “a pedophile, pervert, and a creep” before his arrest. 

Yoder was employed from 2007 to 2021, when he was arrested. The survivors allege that the sexual abuse began in the 2010-2011 school year, when he made inappropriate comments toward the girls and groomed them into inappropriate activity. 

Wilmington Area High School (Wilmington Area School District)

Olivia Ortz, a former chorus teacher at Wilmington Area High School, was arrested in May 2022 after her husband reported that she was having an inappropriate relationship with one of her female students. 

Her husband, a contract employee with the Wilmington Area School District, found an inappropriate letter on his wife’s iPad from the girl. While the survivor initially denied the abuse, she later admitted that the two had sexual contact. 

What Laws Govern Sex Abuse Cases Involving Pennsylvania Schools?

Title IX is a federal regulation requiring schools that receive federal funding to prevent sex-based discrimination, including sexual assault (20 U.S.C. §1681; 34 CFR Part 106). They must have programs in place to train teachers and staff about sex-based discrimination and provide a method for confidential reporting of sexual abuse. School districts that fail to follow these regulations may face penalties.

The PSchool Code regulates all school districts in the state, including how they are organized and what protective measures they must have in place (24 P.S. §§1-101 et seq.). Teachers are mandated reporters, and school districts must ensure that every educator has the requisite abuse training (24 P.S. § 1205.6). No school district can employ anyone who has been convicted of a sexual offense, including sexual abuse and assault (24 P.S. § 111). 

Who Can Be Held Liable for Sexual Assault in a Pennsylvania School?

Our sexual abuse attorneys will file claims against all liable parties, which can include the following.

Individual Perpetrator: The person who directly caused the sexual assault or abuse can be named as a defendant in your case.

Other Staff Members and Administrators: Other school district employees are mandated reporters and must report any potential abuse to ChildLine as soon as possible. If they delay or refuse to report, they can be liable.

Schools and School Districts: We can pursue claims through the school or district’s insurance agency to secure higher compensation.

Pennsylvania Government Entities: In some cases, government agencies may also be held liable for your injuries. These may come with shorter statutes of limitations or other restrictions. 

What Damages Can Sexually Abused Victims Recover in Civil Lawsuits?

Damages that you may be able to pursue include:

• Medical bills
• Loss of income
• Therapy and mental health support
• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of normal life

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled in The Bert Co. v. Turk, et al that punitive damages can be pursued on a per-defendant basis rather than a per-case basis, meaning you may be eligible for more.

How Long Do Victims of Child Sexual Abuse Have to Take Legal Action in Pennsylvania?

For sexual abuse lawsuits in Pennsylvania, juvenile survivors have until age 55 (42 Pa.C.S. §5533(b)(2)(i)), with a lookback window until November 2025 (42 Pa.C.S. §5533(b)(2)(ii)). Adults have two years to file (42 Pa.C.S. §5524(7). 

How Injury Lawyer Team Can Help

Our firm will guide you through the entire process, including the collection and securing of evidence such as medical reports and school records. 

Through our trauma-informed advocacy, we ensure victims feel safe disclosing key details during their witness testimony. Our team also has contacts with professional expert witnesses who can provide vital context for a jury, such as why victims may not immediately disclose their trauma and the legal obligations of school districts in relation to sexual misconduct. 

We will communicate with all third parties, such as school districts, on your behalf, so that you can focus on your healing. Additionally, we will shield your privacy, such as by filing your claim under a pseudonym like John Doe. Everything you share with us is kept confidential through the attorney-client privilege. 

As Million Dollar Advocates, we consistently strive for maximum compensation, ensuring that both the school district and the individual perpetrator are held accountable. Our thorough case evaluation tabulates all economic and non-economic damages so that you receive the highest possible settlement that will fund your recovery. While many cases settle before trial, our Super Lawyers will also provide compassionate court representation if we are unable to resolve your case through negotiation. 

Book a Free Consultation

Our Pennsylvania firm handles sexual abuse lawsuits on a contingency fee basis: no fees unless we win. We have helped over 5,000 clients receive justice through personal injury claims nationwide, always protecting their privacy while pushing for the highest possible compensation. Contact us today for a confidential, no-obligation, and free consultation about your legal rights.