A man that had been employed by a physical rehabilitation agency in Philadelphia and contracted by Cheltenham High School as an athletic trainer, has pleaded guilty to felony charges for having inappropriate contact with a student., as reported by the Montgomery News.
R.C., 30, entered his plea in Montgomery County Court. He had been charged with institutional sexual assault and corruption of a minor during an incident on April 12 with a 14 year-old female student. R.C. allegedly sent the student text messages with sexual connotations, touched her in an indecent way and tried to kiss the girl – all on school grounds.
Assistant District Attorney Noah Marlier said, "This is extremely egregious. What he did was take his position of power as an athletic trainer and he manipulated a 14-year-old girl. He got her to a secluded place at the school and he violated the trust that she had bestowed upon him…"
R.C. is facing between 20 to 40 months in prison – Marlier sought a prison sentence – and upon release, he will be on probation for three years.
Judge Gary S. Silow will decide the actual punishment once the Pennsylvania Sexual Offender Assessment Board evaluates R.C. to see if he will be declared a sexually violent predator under the statues set by the state's Megan's Law.
Once deemed a predator, under Megan's Law, stricter restrictions are set. For instance, R.C. may have to report his home address to state police and the community for the rest of his life.
Even without being listed as a sexually violent predator, R.C., who is married with two children, must report his home address for 15 years due to the conviction. He also looses his license to work as an athletic trainer.
Marlier said, "The message that is being sent here is that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the community of Montgomery County will not stand for teachers or coaches abusing the trust of children.
The judge revoked R.C.'s bail and he returned to police custody. R.C. was warned not to have any contact with the victim or her family. He is also not to have any unsupervised contact with any minors – other than his own children.
The judge said, "When I mean no contact, I mean never through another person or any form of communication. Not through the Internet, not Twitter or two cans tied with a string. I don't want you to even think about contacting her.
The victim and her family attended the court proceedings and were satisfied, according to Marlier, with the outcome.
The girl had told her parents that R.C. had tried to unzip her sweatshirt after class and she told him to stop. The criminal report prepared by Cheltenham Detective A.S. stated that R.C. had "later sent a text message to (the girl) stating that he couldn't wait to pull the zipper down the rest of the way." Then when the student returned to R.C.'s office he "attempted to kiss (the girl) but she blocked her face with her hands."
Before you decide how to plea in a criminal case contact a criminal defense attorney experienced in the charges you are facing. A case such as this one could affect your entire life.
