JEANNETTE, Pa. (AP) - Authorities allege that a western Pennsylvania schoolteacher had sex with a 16-year-old student in her English classroom on multiple occasions.
Thirty-eight-year-old Maria Chappell of Mount Pleasant Township is also accused of renting a hotel room where she and the male student spent the day in February.
Superintendent Matthew Hutcheson of the Jeanette City School District said that Chappell had been “removed” from her high school teaching position.
Chappell was arraigned Friday in Westmoreland County on charges of having sexual contact with a student, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor. She was released on $50,000 unsecured bail.
Defense attorney Jeff Monzo said Chappell doesn’t have a criminal record and has been a teacher in the district for 13 years. He called her “a wonderful contributing member of society.”
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