Chelsea Lorson. (Buffalo Valley Regional Police)
A 25-year-old teacher’s aide in Pennsylvania is accused of sexually assaulting two students and giving them sexually transmitted diseases, police say.
Chelsea Lorson, who worked at the Lewisburg Area High School in Union County, was arrested Wednesday and charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, institutional sexual assault corruption of minors and recklessly endangering another person, The Daily Item reports.
The charges are all felonies.
The Buffalo Valley Regional Police Department told the newspaper one of the students was under the age of 18 and the other was under the age 16.
Lorson was removed from her duties at the school after officials learned about the investigation, Lewisburg Superintendent Mark DiRocco said.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. She Told a Co-Worker She Had Sex With a Student in the Teen’s Driveway
Lorson worked at Lewisburg Area High School. (Facebook)
The investigation into the allegations against Chelsea Lorson began after she told a co-worker during a lunch meeting that she had sex with a student in the victim’s driveway, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Item.
The co-worker is a mandated reporter, a person required by law to report allegations of child abuse. The person called ChildLine, a 24-hour hot line that receives reports of suspected child abuse, to report the allegations, and police were notified.
Lorson also told the person she had sex with the younger student as a birthday gift, according to police.
One of the victims was under the “direct care, guidance, supervision and control” of Lorson, according to The Daily Item.
2. The Sex Was Unprotected & She Is Also Accused of Knowingly Giving STDs to the Students
(Facebook)
Police said Lorson knowingly gave the students sexually transmitted diseases, the Associated Press reports.
The school district said all of the incidents occurred off of school property.
“This allegation is very troubling to us as we work diligently to ensure the safety and well-being of all our students,” Lewisburg Superintendent Mark DiRocco said in a statement.
He said Lorson passed “all necessary employment requirements,” and background checks.
“We understand that our parents and community members expect that adults working with our children should have the highest morals, values, and ethics in their interactions with students. We expect the same and deeply regret that something of this nature may have occurred with our students,” DiRocco said.
3. She Is Married & Has 2 Children
(Facebook)
According to a wedding announcement and her now-deleted Facebook page, along with posts from relatives, Chelsea Lorson, whose maiden name is Chelsea Hill, is married with two young children.
Lorson was engaged in 2011 to her current husband.
According to the announcement, she graduated from Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School in 2009 and was studying early childhood education at Pennsylvania College of Technology. She was working for the Williamsport YMCA Childcare Center as a classroom assistant at the time.
She is originally from Williamsport and now lives in Milton.
4. She Worked With the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit
(Facebook)
Lorson worked with the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit as a classroom assistant, according to its 2015-16 directory.
Intermediate units provide regional services to Pennsylvania school districts, including special education.
“The individual had been working at the high school for a short time and in a limited capacity,” Superintendent Mark DiRocco said in a statement.
5. The School District Is Holding a Meeting With Parents to Address the Arrest
(Pinterest)
The school district is holding a meeting for parents at 6 p.m. Thursday to discuss the arrest.
“I worked at a school district for 10 years, you don’t do that stuff,” parent Jill Snyder told WNEP-TV. “We know that it’s been removed, that we don’t have to worry about our kids in that situation>”
Another parent, Brady Hall, said his family recently moved to the area because of its highly ranked school district.
“Unfortunate things happen at every level, every school from top to bottom but it’s awesome that they take action right away,” Hall told the news station. “Makes me feel safe, when I have three kids in this school district myself.”
