KEY POINTS:
(*)The teacher allegedly secretly recorded a conversation with her student without that student’s knowledge or consent
(*)She allegedly sent the recording to a 17-year-old boy, mocking her student
(*)The teacher faces several felony charges, including criminal use of a communication facility
A 33-year-old teacher in Pennsylvania has been arrested following a months-long investigation by state police into her alleged inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old male student.
Ashley Thurby Kolesar, a teacher of the Laurel Highlands School District, is accused of violating wiretapping laws after she allegedly secretly recorded a conversation with a student without that student’s knowledge or consent and sent the recording to the 17-year-old student.
Kolesar’s arrest and charges were announced by Fayette County District Attorney Richard Bower during a news conference Friday, WPXI reported.
During their investigation into Kolesar’s alleged inappropriate relationship with the 17-year-old boy, state police found that the two exchanged more than 6,000 text messages from September 2022 through January of this year.
While reviewing the texts, investigators found a video with audio that Kolesar recorded on her cell phone and then shared with the 17-year-old student.
The video showed a 15-year-old student seeking help from Kolesar on improving his grade in her class. That student was not aware that she was recording their conversation.
She then allegedly sent that video to the 17-year-old student, and the two mocked the student in the video, WTAE reported.
“It’s a teacher who has a child come in and wants to have a discussion about his or her grade. It’s confidential. You don’t go out and make fun of it, you don’t go out and distribute it, you don’t go out and record it. That young man trusted her,” Bower was quoted as saying by CBS News.
Kolesar was charged with three third-degree felonies: interception, disclosure or use of wire or electronic communications, distribution of that interception to another individual and criminal use of a communication facility.
“A Pennsylvanian wiretap law makes it illegal to record a private conversation without all parties in the conversation [consenting]. Further, it’s illegal to distribute [the] audio to another person,” Bower was quoted as saying by WPXI.
No other detail has been provided as of this writing. It is unknown if sexual misconduct charges are expected.
According to Bower, the investigation into the allegations against Kolesar is ongoing.
Laurel Highlands School District superintendent Jesse T. Wallace III issued an official statement on the case via CBS News.
“We have come to know that a felony charge(s) will or have been filed against one of our professional teaching staff. In addition, as we understand the circumstances, this matter continues to be an open and ongoing investigation. Likewise, the employee has been on administrative leave since the onset of the [Pennsylvania State Police] investigation began,” the statement began.
It continued, “To that end, the LHSD has been in continued communication with the PSP and has been transparent and fully corporative with the investigation. The District will act accordingly with the charges being filed and take every step for the continued establishment and maintenance of the safety of all students. All protocols available will be implemented to address this matter fully. We will continue to be vigilant in our pursuit of quality educational programs and services for our students.”
* Article from: ibtimes.com
