Schools

School Director 'Disgusted' By Teacher Sex Charges

A Nazareth school board member says he complained two years ago about a former teacher now charged with sexually assaulting a student.

Former Nazareth Middle School drama teacher , and a school board member says he wishes he had done more to try to oust Salevsky two years ago.

School director Chris M. Miller told the Morning Call that he complained about Salevsky when the teacher had students perform songs that contained sexual innuendos. Miller said he wanted the teacher fired and is now disgusted by the case.

At a school board meeting in November 2011, Miller criticized Salevsky for exposing students to inappropriate content, according to a Lehigh Valley Live report. Some parents and students defended Salevsky, who was reprimanded but kept his job.

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A woman whose daughter was in Salevsky's class said she was not surprised by the sex charges filed last week. She told WFMZ that her daughter found Salevsky "odd" and said he spent a lot of time hanging around with students.

Salevsky, 39, of Lower Macungie Township, is charged with sexually assaulting a boy for two years including incidents in a classroom. The school district fired him last month.

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A friend of the victim told school officials about the alleged assaults.

Anyone with information about a case of child sexual assault can call 800-932-0313 to reach Pennsylvania's Child Line.

Statewide, teacher misconduct reports are on the rise, according to a Pa. Independent article from March. Misconduct reports made to the state Department of Education doubled from 2011 to 2012.

A Coopersburg man who used to teach in the Nazareth district was charged in January with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old student at an Allentown elementary school.

Salevsky was charged Friday and jailed in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. He is a DeSales University graduate who taught at Holy Family School in Nazareth and Allen High School in Allentown, according to several websites.


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