Teacher admits sex with student
Former OJR science teacher/coach faces up to 7 years in prison
WEST CHESTER » A former teacher and coach at Owen J. Roberts High School Monday pleaded guilty Monday to two felonies in connection with her illicit relationship with a former student in which she admitted having sexual intercourse with the teen.
Melissa Bonkoski, 38, appeared briefly before Chester County Common Pleas Judge Ann Marie Wheatcraft to enter pleas to the charges of institutional sexual assault and unlawful contact with a minor, both third-degree felony charges punishable by a maximum of 3½ to 7 years in state prison.
The former science teacher and softball coach, who resigned after news of her arrest became public last year, was fist charged with harassing the teenage student, who complained to police. But she later admitted that she had engaged in sex with the youth at her home in Stowe in December 2016, after inviting him there to watch television.
The victim, a 16-year-old male, was a student in the defendant’s class during his freshman year. He came forward and told investigators about the relationship he had with Bonkoski after a girlfriend discovered improper text messages on his cellphone and alerted authorities, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
Bonkoski later told detectives that she had purchased a disposable “burner” phone only for communications with the student, thinking that it would be untraceable to her.
“I thought I was being smart,” she told police in an interview.
According to the release, Bonkoski started the relationship by communicating with the victim outside of school. The conduct progressed to kissing and “makeout”
sessions in her car when she would pick him up from work. The youth said he was afraid that he would stop getting rides if he stopped kissing the defendant.
Bonkoski eventually invited the victim to her house, and discussed oral sex and sexual intercourse with the student. She kept communicating with him on the “burner” phone, trying to keep the communications
secret. Then, sometime in December, they had sex. Bonkoski acknowledged the contact in an interview with Chester County Detective Christine Bleiler of the D.A.’s Child Abuse Unit on Aug. 11; the teen confirmed the matter on Aug. 21, according to the arrest affidavit.
The victim eventually tried to cut off contact with Bonkoski, but she continued to insist on contacting him via text messages, leading to the discovery of the crime.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Emily Provencher of the Child Abuse Unit. Bonkoski is represented by defense attorney Marc Neff of Philadelphia.