Ex-Southern York teacher asked student to be her secret girlfriend, faces charges: police
A former Southern York County teacher, who also previously worked in a neighboring district, kissed a student in a classroom, and the two exchanged sexually explicit photos, police allege.
Southern Regional Police charged Emily Grace Lehneis, 30, of the 200 block of Homestead Drive in Hanover, in May with sexual abuse of children, obscene and other sexual materials and performances, institutional sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of minors, according to court records.
The state Department of Education suspended her teacher certification last month, according to its website.
Lehneis, who worked as a special education teacher at Susquehannock High School, resigned from the district on Jan. 27, according to school board minutes.
She is awaiting trial in the York County Court of Common Pleas.
Lehneis could not be reached for comment.
Student 'never thought her first kiss would be from a teacher': affidavit
Southern Regional Police received concerns in January about a possible inappropriate sexual relationship between Lehneis and a high school student, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Police interviewed the student, who told police that she had befriended and developed a relationship with the teacher. The two communicated through phone calls, text messages, Snapchat and Instagram. The conversations ranged from life in general to flirtatious and sexually explicit talk about each other, the affidavit states.
In September 2022, the student was visiting Lehneis' classroom in between school hours and sports practice. The teen told police she was "stunned" when the teacher gave her a long mouth-to-mouth kiss as she went to leave. She said she didn't know how to respond and left. She told police she was not OK with it.
The student "went on to say that she never thought her first kiss would be from a teacher," the affidavit states.
In the classroom, on another occasion, the teacher placed a stick-on name tag on the student's pubic area in a flirtatious way, the affidavit states.
In mid-October, Lehneis asked the student to be her secret girlfriend, and the student agreed, the affidavit states. The teen said she knew it was inappropriate, and after a week or two, she told the teacher she could no longer be her secret girlfriend.
The teen reported receiving and sending nude or sexually explicit photos between the two of them, the affidavit states.
Police searched the student's cell phone and found several sexually explicit photographs and/or videos of Lehneis on Snapchat.
Teacher formerly served in the South Western School District
Lehneis worked as a soccer coach in the South Western School District, according to the state Department of Education.
In an email, Duane Bull, executive assistant to the superintendent, said Lehneis worked as a long-term substitute teacher from October 2021 until June 2022. She served in high school learning support.
She also served as a fall volunteer coach for the girls' soccer team during the 2022-2023 school year, the district said.
Statement from Southern York County School District
The York Daily Record reached out to Southern York School District for comment on the allegations at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning. The school district responded with a statement around 3:30 p.m. The district sent the following statement to the community on Tuesday evening:
"Dear Southern Community,
"We want to make you aware of a situation involving a former staff member who worked briefly at Susquehannock High School. Ms. Emily Lehneis was employed as a teacher in the district from August 2022 to January 2023.
"The district was notified by local law enforcement of its investigation of allegations concerning Ms. Lehneis and a student on January 22, 2023. The district immediately took action by placing Ms. Lehneis on paid administrative leave, and subsequently obtained her resignation letter from employment on January 27, 2023. The district also filed the mandatory notification with Childline and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (“PDE”) to report these allegations. Several months later, when charges were filed against former staff member, Ms. Lehneis, the district immediately updated its PDE notification to reflect these changes. The district has, and will continue to, fully cooperate with the law enforcement investigation of this matter.
"Due to the criminal investigation, the district can not share further details regarding this matter. If anyone has any information related to the allegations made in the criminal case, you are urged to share it with the Southern Regional Police Department. Please know it is our goal to keep the community informed, but confidentiality in personnel and police matters limits what information we can share and when we can share it.
"Like you, we are deeply troubled by this situation. We are grateful for this situation being reported and the police response and cooperation in addressing this matter. Our focus will continue to be on the safety and well-being of our students and to minimize any disruptions to the learning environment. Our counseling staff will be available to any student or staff member who needs to talk about this matter.
"Sincerely,
Southern York County School District"
It’s not clear why police and school officials did not notify the public about the charges when they were filed. Police did not issue a news release.
Court hearing
A pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 20, according to court records.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Police charge ex-Southern York teacher with sexual abuse of children
