CORAOPOLIS, Pa. – A 26-year-old high school gym teacher was charged with sending nude photos of herself and sexually explicit text messages to a 14-year-old freshman male enrolled in the school.
Beth Ann Chester was arrested Jan. 4 and charged with child sexual abuse, statutory sexual assault and related counts. Chester taught health and physical education at Moon Area High School.
Officials said Chester, who is married, sent the student three pictures of herself on her cell phone, two of which were nude photos, on Dec. 22. The student sent a nude photo of himself back to her in response.
Although the boy denied the two had any sexual contact, police said Chester admitted to having a sexual relationship with the student in the school parking lot. According to Moon Township Police Chief Leo McCarthy, the boy said he felt he was in love with Chester.
The student told police that he and Chester had been exchanging messages since October. The two had also figured out a way to spend more time together at the school. In one of the messages, Chester described the boy’s body as “sexy” and made an explicit reference to his body.
On Dec. 26, after the student’s parents discovered the text messages, they confronted Chester. The following day, the teacher turned in her resignation to the school citing personal reasons. Another teacher told authorities Chester resigned because of the messages sent to the boy.
Chester was booked into Allegheny County Jail on a $50,000 bond, which failed to be posted. Her preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 8.
The Moon Area school board has yet to accept Chester’s resignation. Jack Cambest, the school district attorney, said the teacher had been employed by the district for more than two years.
