A high school teacher in Pennsylvania is being accused of sexually abusing a student and giving the child weed.
According to court records that PEOPLE looked at, Michelle Mercogliano is being charged with 63 felonies. These include multiple counts of unlawful contact with a child and possession with intent to distribute.
Tredyffrin Township Police and the Chester County District Attorney’s Office say that Mercogliano started sleeping with a 16-year-old student in February. At the time, Mercogliano was a teacher at Conestoga High School. The people also say she gave the teen marijuana. The police heard about all of these claims earlier this week before starting to look into them.
A release from the district’s office on Facebook on April 30 said that Mercogliano, 35, is participating and setting up a time to turn herself in. She has not yet been arrested.
DCA Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said in a statement, “Parents and students should be able to trust their teachers.” “That person broke the law and broke that trust.” We will not stand for it.
According to a criminal complaint, the student told ABC station WPVI that he had sex with Mercogliano about 12 times, with most of the encounters taking place at the teacher’s parents’ house.
Mercogliano is also said to have talked to the student on Snapchat, according to the criminal charge.
Superintendent Richard Gusick said in a statement shared by the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District that Mercogliano was put on leave right away and can no longer get on school grounds.
Gusick said, “Ms. Mercogliano started teaching at Conestoga last fall.” “From 2019 to 2024, she taught at Hillside Elementary School. From 2014 to 2018, she worked as a paraprofessional at Hillside Elementary and Valley Forge Elementary Schools.” At this point, we don’t have any evidence that other students are involved in the criminal probe.