A teacher at a middle school in Pennsylvania is facing allegations of sending inappropriate photos to a 14-year-old student, along with engaging in suggestive conversations that downplayed the student’s age.
The accused teacher, Ashley Autumn Mongell, allegedly requested the student to use disappearing messages and made a remark about not contacting her for nine years, as per documents obtained by WPXI. The Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crimes Unit initiated an investigation following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding online interactions between Mongell and the student.
Reports indicate that explicit photos were exchanged between the student and the teacher via Snapchat, after authorities obtained information through a subpoena. Mongell admitted to being the student’s eighth-grade teacher at Connellsville Area Middle School, located about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh.
She also confessed to sending a nude photo to the student, which was found on the student’s phone. The communication between the two reportedly took place on platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and mobile phones.
Mongell has been charged with ‘Unlawful Contact with a Minor,’ a felony offense that could lead to a maximum of seven years in prison, according to Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele. Following the public disclosure of the charges, she was placed on administrative leave by the school district.
Superintendent Richard Evans assured parents that the district is taking the matter seriously and cooperating with law enforcement. Mongell has been detained in the Fayette County Jail with bail set at $40,000 (£29,300) and is scheduled to appear in court on September 24.
