The proper wording for what former Pennsylvanian teacher Tiffany Leiseth is being accused of is felony institutional sexual assault. The teacher allegedly had sex with 2 students, both of them aged 18. Both incidents reportedly took place inside the teacher’s own home. 26 year-old Leiseth used to hold a position as a substitute teacher of English in the New Brighton School District, which is located northwest of Pittsburgh. Both alleged victims used to be her students, but the acts in questions supposedly occurred after the school year had ended that year.
The local authorities started a police investigation in May 2014. They began looking into the matter after they were tipped off that the young woman had sent the two men in question nude photos of herself. According to a statement made by Police Chief Leo McCarthy from Moon Township, in an interview with local station CBS Pittsburgh, the authorities “followed up on that rumor and they found those students, and they found the nude photographs, and they identified the teacher”.
The students in question have also been interviewed by the police and reported similar goings-on. Both young men told investigators they had been invited to the substitute English teacher’s home and given beer. Then, the teacher allegedly had sex with 2 students – the act reportedly took place on the last day of school with the first student. The second student came to visit the following day, say police reports.
According to press reports from WPXI, the young teacher told the students not to let anyone know of what allegedly transpired between them. As the investigations unfurled, Leiseth lost her teaching position in the New Brighton School District. Michael DeRiso, the attorney representing Leiseth in the case told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that, since the school year was officially over at the time the incidents allegedly happened, the situation involves three consenting adults. This is Leiseth’s argument for claiming her job loss was unfair. DeRiso told the press: “I’m not going to get in a war at this point with the alleged victims’ families. The reality is you had three consenting adults once school let out.”
The chief of the Moon Township police department begs to differ on this matter. According to the statements he made to the WPXI, “regardless of your age, whether you’re an adult or not, if you’re a high school student, a teacher cannot have sexual relations with you.” However, since both of the men in question are over 18, the teacher cannot be charged with a crime for having sent them nude photos of herself. The preliminary hearing in this case has been scheduled for July 22
