A former student teacher and athletic trainer is in police custody on accusations he abused students at two Pennsylvania schools, including one in Western Pennsylvania.
As reported by Pittsburgh NBC affiliate WPXI, citing Pennsylvania State Police reports, this investigation began in January 2023, when a school district in Chester County notified the agency of a “criminal incident” that happened at the high school. That investigation determined Samuel Elliot Fischer, 34, of Erie, secretly recorded male students in the locker room while he was a student teacher.
According to WPXI reporter Sierra Rehm, police found through additional investigation that Fischer “engaged in similar behavior” while an athletic trainer at Pine Richland School District between 2014 and 2019. Police allege he recorded students in the locker room of Pine Richland High School and the bathroom at Pine Richland Middle School.
Authorities filed 35 charges against Fischer on Jan. 3. Those charges include photographing or filming sexual acts, unlawful contact with minors - sexual abuse of children, invasion of privacy, child pornography and disseminating photos/film of child sex acts.
WPXI obtained a copy of the charging document, which explains that secretly obtained images of Pine Richland students were located on devices police seized while investigating the initial complaint out of Chester County. The document states the videos and photos were taken between 2015 and 2017 in locker rooms or bathrooms at Pine Richland High School and Pine Richland Middle School. Individuals seen in the images were in “various states of undress” and “many of the files contained nudity.”
The document alleges that 18 files, many of which contained nudity, were associated with sent Kik attachments, Rehm reported.
WPXI also received a copy of the statement Pine Richland School District sent to families. It claims that district officials were not aware of Fischer’s alleged conduct before Jan. 8.
“The district learned earlier today that the athletic trainer has since been arrested and arraigned for crimes committed at school districts in Pennsylvania. This athletic trainer was employed through a third-party contractor and worked with the district from 2014 to 2019. The third-party contractor managed the process to ensure that all employment clearance requirements were met,” the statement reads in part.
The district says “all affected parties known at this time” have been contacted directly by police.
