West Chester Charter School Teacher Charged In Sex Abuse Of Minor

WEST CHESTER, PA — A teacher in a fine arts charter school has been charged with Sexual Assault and Corruption of Minors after he allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old student who reported the incidents to police.

The Chester County District Attorney’s Office and West Goshen Township Police Department said today that Seth Reich, 40, of Downingtown, has been charged with Institutional Sexual Assault, Corruption of Minors, and Unlawful Contact With a Minor — all felonies, in connection to the sexual abuse of a student at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School Center for Performing and Fine Arts (PLCS) in West Chester, where he was a teacher.

On June 26, the now 19-year-old victim reported to West Goshen police that she had been in a sexual relationship with the defendant, her acting teacher when she was 17 and was a student at PLCS, according to the criminal complaint against Reich.

According to the complaint, 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. In May 2019, Reich allegedly asked the victim to come to his office for private acting lessons. When she did, the defendant kissed her, asked her to perform oral sex on him, and engaged in vaginal intercourse, according to the complaint.

Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said, "It took great courage for the victim to come forward and report what happened to her as a 17-year-old student. The defendant groomed her over several months before the relationship became sexual. This is an egregious violation of trust and an abuse of his position of authority as a teacher. My office will prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.”

The criminal complaint further alleges that Reich pulled the victim out of class numerous times between May and June 2019, when the victim graduated from PLCS. All the sexual abuse occurred in the defendant's office, according to the report.

The sexual relationship between the victim and defendant continued from June 2019 until March 2021, during which time the two had consensual sex more than 100 times in various locations, the complaint stated. Thousands of communications, including text messages, videos, and images, were recovered between the victim and defendant from the victim's phone during a forensic examination, according to the complaint.

West Goshen Township Police Chief Michael P. Carroll stated, "We commend the victim for her bravery in reporting this to police and encourage others to come forward if they have any other information in connection with this case. This is an ongoing investigation."

Reich’s bail was set at $25,000 cash. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 12 in front of Magisterial District Judge Martin Goch.

West Goshen Police are investigating, and Deputy District Attorney Erin O’Brien is the assigned prosecutor.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call West Goshen Police Sgt. David Maurer at 610-696-7400.

Call Childline to report child abuse at 1-800-932-0313.

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