Sex Assault Trial For Former West Chester Charter Teacher Begins

WEST CHESTER, PA — A former teacher in a fine arts charter school is on trial in the Chester County Justice Center on charges of having sexual relations with a 17-year-old student who reported the incidents to police.

Seth Reich, 42, of Downingtown, is accused of institutional sexual assault, corruption of minors, and related charges in connection to the sexual abuse of a student at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School for Performing Arts, West Chester, where he was a teacher.

The trial is before Judge Analisa Sondergaard.

The victim, now 21, reported to West Goshen police that she had been in a sexual relationship with the defendant, her acting teacher when she was 17.

The teacher is also accused of providing alcohol to minors at a hotel in 2019.

According to the police:

The victim was in Reich's acting class working on a play when they exchanged phone numbers in March 2019.

After that, the victim told police, they texted, frequently ate lunch together, and he gave her private acting lessons.

The victim said the sexual relations began in May 2019 and continued until March 2021, during which time the two had sex more than 100 times.

Reich’s lawyer, James A. Funt of Philadelphia, said the victim’s timeline was not accurate. He said the relationship did not begin until the victim was 18 and graduated school, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Reich is free on $75,000 bail.