A Chester County ESL teacher is accused of sexually abusing one of his elementary school students over a two-year span.
Luis Morales, 56, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with aggravated indecent assault, institutional sexual assault, corruption of minors and other related offenses.
Morales taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at Nottingham Elementary School in Oxford, Pennsylvania, until 2016 and was suspended in June of this year from the Phoenixville Area School District where he had been working for the past five years.
The investigation began in June when a 14-year-old girl told investigators she had been sexually abused by Morales, her ESL teacher, when she was in the 3rd and 4th grades at Nottingham Elementary School between 2014 and 2016.
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The girl told police Morales had asked her to stay after school when she was in 3rd grade and then touched her chest and genitals. The girl said Morales continued to sexually abuse her until she graduated 4th grade.
Morales posted bail which was set at $350,000 at 10 percent. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 28.
“Chester County is seeing an unacceptable wave of students who have been sexually abused in our elementary, middle, and high schools,” Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said. “It is imperative that we implement safeguards in our schools and any other place children are to protect them from predators."
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If you have any information about the case, call Detective Christopher Coverly at 610-998-0032 ext. 302.
"Adults need to engage in oversight by watching out for children," Ryan said. "Anyone who works with children has a legal obligation as a mandated reporter, but all adults have a moral responsibility to do the right thing to protect them. We must do better.”
If you suspect a child is being abused, call Childline at 1-800-932-0313.
