A new Pennsylvania law now makes it a felony for a teacher to have a sexual relationship with a student under the age of 18.
The announcement was made during a press conference on Monday at the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office in Easton.
The crime was previously a misdemeanor with jail time of up to five years in prison. The passage of Senate Bill 1183 increases possible jail time to seven years. It also requires a teacher, school employee or volunteer who is convicted of having sex with a student to be registered as a sex offender under Meaghan’s Law.
“There is always a deterrent element in that there may be some people out there who will think twice before going down this road of engaging a student now that they’re aware they’re looking at felony convictions,” said Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli.
Morganelli also claimed he wanted to talk about the new law because of the increase in cases in his county.
