A Pennsylvania high school principal was arrested by state police and charged with 33 felonies and three misdemeanors resulting from a pattern of sexual contact with a minor.
Montoursville barracks crime unit investigator Trooper Matthew Miller Tuesday arrested Williamsport Area School District’s High School principal, Dr. Roger Weaver Freed. Miller cuffed and stuffed the 34-year-old principal for transport to answer charges in Lycoming County.
District Attorney Ryan Gardner’s office received a Childline tip on June 5 indicating Freed had repeatedly engaged in sexual acts with a teenage male student, according to a Thursday statement from Gardner. The alleged sexual assaults occurred during and after school a number of times.
The Childline report was provided to state police for investigation, according to the district attorney.
“The investigation revealed sexual abuse committed upon a male juvenile student by Roger Freed,” Gardner added. “The abuse began when the child was approximately 16 years of age.”
“The arrest of Roger Freed should serve as a reminder that regardless of status or influence, the voices of abused children will not fall on deaf ears by any Lycoming County Law Enforcement agency.”
According to court records, Freed had a public hearing and arraignment Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Christian Frey. Freed was freed after posting $175,000 unsecured bail, according to the court documents, which do not indicate when his next court appearance is scheduled.
Freed was charged with thirty-three felonies: thirty counts of third-degree felony for allegedly having intercourse or sexual contact with a student, two second-degree felonies of sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault without consent, and one third-degree felony charge of corrupting a minor where the defendant is 18 or older.
Freed also faces three misdemeanor charges of providing alcohol to a minor.
The accuser told police that at the beginning, he trusted Freed “like an older brother.” However, the relationship allegedly progressed.
The accuser reportedly informed police of one 2017 incident when Freed drove both of them around as they spoke about advancing their relationship, according to the NorthCentralPa report. While sitting in a dark parking lot, Freed allegedly said to the student, “I could lose my job over this,” and told the boy not to tell anybody.
“After the first encounter, (accuser) described how Freed performed oral sex on him regularly (4-5 times a week), always at night, through the next two years of high school,” investigators wrote.
In another instance described by the former student, he spoke of “making out” in Freed’s office at the Williamsport Area School District.
The report added the relationship continued throughout the accuser’s senior year of high school. He reportedly told investigators that after one particular Bible study at Freed’s home, the principal allegedly performed oral sex as the student sat in a brown reclining chair.
According to the arrest affidavit, the contact continued even after the student started attending college. Freed would reportedly stay at a hotel when he was on break from school, and the principal allegedly sent him money, using Venmo, for holidays, birthdays and other events.
The relations allegedly ended in April of this year, the report noted.
UPDATED: This article was edited to include the district attorney’s statement, which included information relevant to the investigation’s initiation and prosecution.
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