5 day forecast
West Allegheny teacher accused of sex with student
Share with others:
A West Allegheny Senior High School math teacher and assistant wrestling coach has been accused of having sex with a former student and giving her alcohol last spring, police said.
William J. Morosetti, 28, of Coraopolis, was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon. He has been charged with institutional sexual assault and furnishing alcohol to a minor, according to court records.
Mr. Morosetti has been suspended from teaching while police investigate the charges, according to a statement from the West Allegheny School District.
The district would not comment on how long Mr. Morosetti has been employed there.
According to a criminal complaint, Mr. Morosetti is accused of having sex six times with his former student, then a senior, between April and June 2012. Five times it was at his home and once at his father's home while Mr. Morosetti was house-sitting, according to the complaint.
The woman, who said she was 18 when the two had sex, has since graduated.
Under Pennsylvania law, an school employee who engages in sexual intercourse with a student commits a third-degree felony.
School district superintendent John DiSanti received an anonymous letter from "A Concerned Parent" -- which he sent to North Fayette police Chief Mark O'Donnell -- reporting rumors that a teacher was having "inappropriate relations" with a now former student, according to the complaint.
The woman told investigators Mr. Morosetti had been her teacher for three years and during her senior year, they "got close" and "hung out." She needed an extra class to graduate and took Mr. Morosetti's believing he would pass her, even if she didn't attend, according to the complaint.
The two communicated by email, then via text. She told investigators he began flirting with her when she was a sophomore.
The woman also told investigators the two got drunk at Mr. Morosetti's house, and that she had been intoxicated while performing oral sex. She said both slept in one morning and missed school that day because they were drunk the previous night, according to the complaint.
She went to his home between 10 and 15 times and drove there herself, because Mr. Morosetti didn't want to be seen picking her up, she told investigators.
The woman told investigators she and Mr. Morosetti "broke up" around graduation.
Mr. Morosetti awaits a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 29. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.
First Published January 18, 2013 12:00 am
