Teacher Pleads Guilty to Corruption of a Minor

(Photo courtesy of West Whiteland Township Police)

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A Chester County teacher has pleaded guilty to two counts of corruption of a minor after police said she had an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old student.

Sarah O’Neill, 35, of Coatesville was a teacher at Church Farm School, West Whiteland Township Police said. She is no longer employed by the school.

O’Neill was sentenced to five years of probation, 100 hours of community service and must undergo a mental-health evaluation, NBC Philadelphia reported. In addition, she can have no unsupervised contact with minors.

The relationship with the 16-year-old student allegedly began in January 2014 and lasted about 10 months, police said.

The Church Farm School in Exton is a day and boarding school for boys in grades 8 through 12.

West Whiteland Police did not provide details about O’Neill’s relationship with the student, but said that the two were “romantically involved.”

There were four “incidents,” police said, that took place in O’Neill’s car and at area hotels. On three occasions, a school custodian found the pair in a locked classroom with the lights off, NBC said.

Police also found hundreds of e-mails and text messages that the two exchanged, NBC said.

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