Pennsylvania

Substitute Teacher Accused of Offering Girl Money for Lewd Photos Over Snapchat

A Montgomery County teacher was arrested for using Snapchat to request lewd photographs from two underage students, police said.

Stephen Catania, 28, a "long-term" substitute teacher at North Montco Technical Career Center, is charged with electronically requesting photos or videos of sex acts from a minor, unlawful contact with minors, corruption of minors and harassment through lewd or threatening language.

Police started investigating after one of the girls, a former student of Catania's, came forward in January to report that Catania had sent her Snapchat messages asking for a picture of her in her underwear, Towamencin Township Police Department Chief Paul Dickinson said. When the girl told Catania that what he was doing was illegal, he told her not to tell anyone, Dickinson said.

On March 7, another former student came forward and said that Catania had sent her Snapchat messages in the summer of 2018 offering her $100 for lewd pictures, the police chief said.

She also told police that toward the end of January, when police were still investigating the first case, Catania contacted her again and told her to delete the Snapchat messages and his phone number from her phone. The girl did as she was told, but in March, Catania sent her more messages, which she turned over to police, Dickinson said.

Catania was arrested on April 10 and remains jailed at Montgomery County Correctional Facility as he awaits a preliminary hearing.

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