An Emmaus High School teacher is accused of inappropriate sexual contact with a student.
Heather Montero, 36, of the 4200 block of South Drive in Allentown, was charged Tuesday with unlawful contact with minors and corruption of minors.
Montero surrendered with her attorney Tuesday morning, and is slated to be arraigned later in the day. Judge Maria Dantos has set Montero’s bail at $20,000 unsecured.
Emmaus High School. (lehighvalleylive.com file photo)
Montero has been suspended with pay from the East Penn School District, officials said.
East Penn School District cooperated with the Pennsylvania State Police and with the Office of the District Attorney in the investigation, prosecutors said.
The charges were a result of a grand jury investigation; Dantos, who oversees the grand jury, found Montero’s case can bypass a preliminary hearing.
Pennsylvania State Police said they were contacted in November 2015 by Lehigh County Children and Youth regarding a Childline tip that Montero was having a sexual relationship with a student.
Troopers investigated Montero’s social media accounts, and were able to identify the student, prosecutors said. The student was born in 1997.
The student was interviewed Nov. 5, 2015, with her parents present, and later the girl gave troopers her cellphone and her Twitter name and password, state police said.
Investigators found messages between the girl and Montero from June 3, 2015, to October 6, 2015, and the messages indicated the two had an intimate sexual relationship, prosecutors said.
State police found messages on the girl’s phone, as well as letters and notes sent between Montero and the victim, state police said.
Montero removed all references to the girl from her social media accounts the day after the girl’s cellphone was seized, prosecutors said.
Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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