Trial Set for Teacher Accused of Sexual Assaults on Student

Sept. 30 is the trial date for a Nazareth Area Middle School teacher accused of repeated sexual assaults of a student over the course of more than two years.

The teacher, Shawn William Salevsky, 39, of Lower Macungie Township, was fired by the school district April 22. The incidents occurred between January 2011 and March 15 of this year, according to court records.

Salevsky, 39, appeared Thursday before Judge Leonard Zito for a formal arraignment in Northampton County Court. Defense attorney Marc Neff requested the judge push back his trial from Sept. 11 as the two sides negotiate, the Easton Express-Times reported.

"He is undergoing a series of evaluations that may impact his plea offer," Neff told the judge.

Zito rescheduled the trial for Sept. 30, the next criminal trial week on the calendar, the newspaper reported.

School district officials learned of the alleged incidents on March 11, when a friend of the boy told officials about a conversation the friend had with the victim on a school bus, the records say.

The boy was interviewed April 1 and April 18 by Upper Nazareth Township Officer William Cope and assistant district attorney Patricia Broscius, who handles sex-related cases in the DA’s office.