Former Teacher At Church Farm School Gets 15-30 Years For Abuse

WEST WHITELAND TOWNSHIP, PA — A former teacher at a private boys school in West Whiteland Township has pleaded guilty and was sentenced for sexually abusing an eighth-grade boy between 2008 and 2010.

Marc Spera, 58, of St. Petersburg, Fla., pleaded guilty to one first-degree felony county of Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse and two first-degree felony counts of Unlawful Contact with a Minor, related to the sexual abuse of a student. The abuse happened between 2008 and 2010 when the defendant was a teacher at Church Farm School (CFS), a private boys boarding school in West Whiteland Township, the Chester County District Attorney's Office said.

Chester County District Judge Patrick Carmody on March 31 sentenced Spera to 15-30 years in prison.

The victim, a former CFS student, contacted law enforcement in December 2018 to report that he had been sexually abused by a teacher when he was in the seventh and eighth grades. Spera gave back and body rubs to the victim in his on-campus apartment when the victim was in seventh grade, the D.A.'s report said. Spera, who worked at CFS from 1995-2010, gifted the victim with a video game and equipment to communicate with him during the summer break, the report said.

When the victim was in eighth grade at CFS, the defendant sexually assaulted him more than 40 times, according to the D.A's report. The defendant left CFS in 2010. Spera was teaching at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg when he was arrested in June 2020, authorities said.

First Assistant District Attorney Michael Barry said, "Schools are meant to be safe environments for children; however, this defendant removed that sense of safety when he targeted his student – his victim — to satisfy his lewd behavior. I commend the victim’s strength and courage to speak up after so many years. It is a reminder that teachers and school administrators are mandated reporters and are required to report suspected child abuse."

The West Whiteland Police Department investigated the case. Deputy District Attorney Erin O’Brien was the prosecutor.

Call Childline if you suspect child abuse: 1-800-932-0313.

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