Wayne man charged for sex with Connestoga student
A Conestoga High School aide was arrested Friday for allegedly sexually assaulting a student and touching her inappropriately when they were in his school office, according to investigators.
Tredyffrin police arrested Arthur Phillips, 67, of Wayne, who works as an instructional aide in the television production studio at Conestoga High School. He has worked for the Conestoga School District since 2006, according to investigators.
The criminal report states that Phillips reportedly engaged in a sexual relationship with a student attending his school. It further states that he allegedly had sexual intercourse with the girl under of age of 16 without her consent.
Tredyffrin Township Police Department received a report on Tuesday from Conestoga High School officials that a minor was reportedly involved in a relationship with Phillips. School officials on Wednesday submitted emails and text messages that were communicated between Phillips and the student since January. The school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Investigators said that Phillips and the victim talked about “sexual issues” via text messages. At least once, police said, he sent her a picture of his genitals.
The Chester County Detective’s Computer Forensic Unit examined the phones used by Phillips and the alleged victim, which investigators said showed several hundred messages communicated between the two that involved a “sexual nature.”
The girl told police that Phillips befriended her at the beginning of the school year and that he drove her to places in his car, including the King of Prussia Mall in Montgomery County. The report states that the alleged victim told police she was sexually assaulted on more than 10 occasions in various areas in Tredyffrin Township, despite saying no to Phillips. Investigators alleged that Phillips made the student have sex with him.
The teenager told police that Phillips allegedly groped her, touched her and kissed her while they were Phillips’ school office in the high school. She told police she tried to avoid his advances.
Investigators said that when the relationship became known, that Phillips reportedly crashed his car. Police found a written note in his car said that “I was just a guy trying to help a kid and the boundaries just got gray.”
During an interview on Thursday in the Tredyffrin police station, Phillips allegedly admitted to police that he communicated with the student via texting and that he had her in his car.
The case is being investigated by Tredyffrin Detective Robert Bostick and Detective Joseph Walton of the Chester County District Attorney’s office.
Phillips was arraigned Friday at the district court in Chesterbrook for numerous charges including aggravated indecent assault and institutional sexual assault. Phillips is being held in Chester County Prison, unable to post his bail set at $500,000. He is prohibited from contacting the alleged victim. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 28 in front of Magisterial District Judge Analisa Sondergaard.
This is the second incident between an aide and a student at Conestoga High School during the 2016-17 school year.
Christine Marie Towers, 26, of Phoenixville, a former teacher’s aide and coach at Conestoga, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last month to 11 to 23 months in prison for the sexual assault of a 16-year-old student. Prosecutors said Towers reportedly had a sexual relationship with a Conestoga High School teenager that she tutored privately.