McKeesport High School teacher faces sexual misconduct charges

GREEN TREE, Pa. (KDKA) – A teacher in the McKeesport Area School District is accused of sexual misconduct.

Allegheny County police said they received a ChildLine report from the district implicating one of its high school teachers. This teacher has been placed on administrative leave.

“The district is addressing these issues,” said Gary Matta, attorney for the McKeesport School District. “We don’t want to cover this up.”

Matta said a high school teacher was accused of sexual misconduct by a student. When the district was notified, Matta said immediate action was taken.

“Any time we are accused of misconduct toward a child, we initiate the immediate removal of the employee from the district,” Matta said.

The allegation comes as the district is already embroiled in various controversies involving staff and principals.

In August, Superintendent Tia Wonzo resigned after she allegedly failed to report allegations of a sexual relationship between a security guard and a student. In September, a janitor was reportedly caught with drugs in his car on school grounds. Also in September, the county police chief was arrested and accused of stealing thousands of dollars to fuel his gambling addiction.

Matta says these are all individual problems and have nothing to do with each other.

“We are making some changes to certain things to make sure everyone is aware of appropriate behavior in the school district,” Matta said.

The mother of a student in the district said she was sad but stressed her son still needed an education.

“They do what they can,” Latasha Allen said. “But when people have bad intentions, that’s just their character.”

“The children need to get their education,” she added. “It’s a difficult situation.”

Police said the allegations were being investigated.