Kelly Schutte Pennridge South Middle School counselor charged with institutional sexual assault after having sexual relationship with 14 year old student.
A Pennsylvania guidance counselor has been charged with institutional sexual assault after allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student at the school where she works.
Kelly Schutte, 35, who is married with a child, was arraigned on Friday on additional charges including indecent assault and corruption of minors. She was released on $25,000 bail.
Investigators first learned of Schutte alleged relationship at Pennridge South Middle School in Bucks County in July.
‘romantic and sexual relationship’
Police were informed of the woman’s actions by the boy’s mother who told told cops her son had been in a ‘romantic and sexual relationship’ with Schutte since fall 2022.
The mother only found out about the indecent liaison after a family member of Schutte’s caught the woman and the teen at her family home and demanded the teen’s parents come and pick the boy up.
During police questioning, the teenage boy explained how the relationship began as the pair sat next to one another on a school bus during a class field trip.
From there, the pair started corresponding with one another as they sent messages on Canvas, a special app staff use to talk to students, FOX29 reported.
Eventually the boy started to miss classes with him spending more time with her in her school office, according to court papers seen by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
When the summer break started, the pair remained in contact, via Snapchat.
Relative walks in on school counselor and her teen victim
The affidavit reveals how the pair’s relationship became physical in June with the two having sex in Schutte’s car in a remote section of a Pennsburg supermarket parking lot.
Another sexual encounter occurred in the boy’s bedroom in West Rockhill Township when the teen’s parents were out of town.
Authorities said the boy described the sexual activity as kissing and inappropriate touching.
Schutte allegedly laid on top of him and touched him. The student’s parents and sister were out of town at the time, court documents stated.
Investigators say one of Schutte’s earrings was found to have been left behind at the boy’s house and given to investigators.
The relationship was first discovered by a relative in July after they walked in on the boy and Schutte, kissing at her home, after which the teenager confessed and told his mother.
On the night in question, the panicked teen called his parents asking to be picked up from Schutte’s home where he explained how one of her family members had caught them together.
The family member angrily told the teen victim to get out. The boy ran out and hid on a nearby street waiting for his parents to pick him up.
Abuse of trust, authority and power
Shutte has been placed her on administrative leave since July when Pennridge School District first learned of the allegations against her.
Shutte has been ordered to have no contact with the victim and avoid all Pennridge School District property, Montgomery County District Attorney Kate Delano explained.
‘While we refrain from making premature judgments about the actions of the staff member facing prosecution, it is crucial to reiterate the district’s stance against any inappropriate contact between a Pennridge School District employee and a student,’ Pennridge Superintendent Angelo Berrios said in a statement on Friday.
‘Such behavior will not be tolerated.’
‘I hope she pays for it. I feel bad for the parents, too and the kid. That kid has to live with that for the rest of their life,’ said Lisa Law to ABC6.
‘My stomach turns, it does. And I feel so bad for the child and their family,’ said Carol Lynch.
Not immediately clear is what led to the school counselor abusing her position of trust, authority and power to subjugate her young male victim.
A preliminary hearing for Schutte is scheduled for Nov. 20.
