3rd teacher arrested in Plum school investigation
Charged after in-class encounter with victim; sex case heads to trial
One Plum Senior High School teacher was arrested and another was ordered to stand trial in what officials described Wednesday as an “expansive and ongoing” investigation into allegations that some teachers had sex with students and how those claims were handled.
Science teacher Drew Zoldak, 40, of New Kensington was arrested at the school Wednesday morning after Plum police said he pointed out the victim in one of the sex cases in class this week in an effort to intimidate her.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office said Mr. Zoldak’s actions were of “great concern” because at the least they were “extraordinarily insensitive” to the student and at the worst they were “an intentional effort to use this child’s peers and the school setting to make her uncomfortable and keep her from speaking freely about her
victimization.”
Another science teacher, Jason Cooper, 38, of Verona was ordered to stand trial on charges that he had sex with a different student this year, after she turned 18.
Plum superintendent Timothy Glasspool wrote in a letter to parents that the district is cooperating with ongoing investigations.
“Needless to say, it has been a challenging start to 2015 for our school community,” he wrote. “During this difficult time, we must remain focused and vigilant by keeping our children at the forefront of our thoughts and actions.”
Mr. Glasspool said in an interview that he learned of the new allegations regarding Mr. Zoldak on Wednesday morning and that he, like other teachers who have been charged, has been placed on paid suspension.
The superintendent said the district’s high school employees were told after the previous arrests “to have no conversations with staff or students regarding the investigation.”
The charges against Mr. Zoldak are connected to another case in which a different teacher, English teacher Joseph Ruggieri, 40, of New Kensington, was accused of having sex with a student multiple times before Christmas, when she was a minor.
Plum police said Wednesday that Mr. Zoldak told his class Monday, “The reason I wasn’t here on Friday is because two men in suits from the District Attorney’s Office were asking me hundreds of questions.” When a student asked why Mr. Zoldak was questioned, Mr. Zoldak pointed to the student with whom Mr. Ruggieri is accused of having sex and said, “Because of her,” police said.
They said Mr. Zoldak then called the student to the front of the class and asked whether she would be comfortable with next week's topic: “sexual assault.”
Plum police contacted the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, whose workers told them that Mr. Zoldak requested to meet with them Friday. During that interview, Mr. Zoldak “implied to the detectives that the victim was partly responsible for the offense, stating: ‘it takes two to tango,’ ” according to the criminal complaint.
The female detectives said they did not use the student’s name with Mr. Zoldak.
Mr. Zoldak was arraigned about 11:45 a.m. on two counts of victim intimidation and released on nonmonetary bond. A woman who answered a phone number listed for him declined to comment.
His arraignment came a short while after District Judge Linda Zucco ordered Mr. Cooper to stand trial on charges that he had sex with a student who recently turned 18.
The student in that case testified that she met Mr. Cooper two years ago, when she was a student in one of his science classes and continued to spend her study hall periods in his classroom. She testified that Mr. Cooper kissed her and had consensual sex with her after she turned 18 this year. On one occasion, she said, he gave her a Long Island iced tea.
She said Mr. Cooper called her after his arrest, apologized and asked how she was doing given that news of their relationship had been reported in local media. She said he never asked about her testimony.
Mr. Cooper faces charges of institutional sex assault, furnishing a minor with alcohol, corrupting a minor and intimidating the student.
Defense attorney Michael DeRiso said Mr. Cooper’s relationship with the student was “inappropriate” but “not criminal” because she was 18 when the sex occurred and that all charges, except for the ones pertaining to alcohol, should be dropped.
Assistant district attorney Evan Lowry argued, “This relationship, like any relationship, did not happen overnight.” He said the judge could infer “there was a long period of grooming in this case that led up to the sexual assault,” a period that occurred before the student’s 18th birthday.
“The case started when he started grooming her,” Mr. Lowry said.
Mr. DeRiso told Judge Zucco, “Unless I blacked out or missed something, I heard nothing of any grooming.”