Delco teacher arrested twice for alleged lewd conduct, charged in Bucks County case
A Delaware County elementary school teacher is accused of masturbating in a Sellersville park last month, while he was out on bail for similar charges in Montgomery County.
Horsham resident Matthew Gagat, 47, was charged earlier this month with a single misdemeanor charge of open lewdness stemming from the June 27 incident at Lenape Park in Sellersville.
Perkasie police said around 9 p.m. they responded to the park in the 500 block of Constitution Avenue, where they spoke with a woman.
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She told them a man across the creek on the Sellersville Armory side of the park was staring at her who appeared to be masturbating, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The officer made contact with Gagat, who denied the accusation.
Gagat, a fifth-grade teacher in Havertown, is awaiting trial in Montgomery County on eight similar misdemeanor charges following a March incident, according to police.
Horsham Police allege an officer was called to the Whitemarsh Cemetery on March 3 for a report of a man exposing himself.
The officer spoke with a couple who told him that they were walking a dog near the Bell Tower when they noticed a man by a headstone in the garden area, according to an affidavit in the case.
At first, they believed the man was urinating, but then noticed his pants were open.
The couple said they walked away from where the man was, but at one point, they looked back and saw the man started walking in their direction while holding his penis, the affidavit said. The couple kept walking until they reached their vehicle where they noticed the same man again.
This time he appeared to be actively masturbating behind a female walker who was looking at her cellphone, so they called police again, the affidavit said.
By this time other officers arrived and one found a male, identified as Gagat, who matched the couple’s description in the area.
The affidavit noted that the officer who stopped Gagat had “prior contact” with him, but the document did not describe what type of contact.
When asked what he was doing in the cemetery, Gagat allegedly said that he was urinating by a tree and walking through the cemetery to clear his mind.
Gagat remains freed on unsecured bail while awaiting trial in his Montgomery County arrest, but the district attorney’s office has filed a petition seeking to raise or revoke his bail. A hearing on the request is scheduled for Aug. 19 before Common Pleas Judge Risa Vetri Ferman.
Attorney Ellis Klein, who is representing Gagat in the Montgomery County case, declined comment on Thursday. Gagat did not have an attorney listed as representing him for the Bucks County charges as of Thursday.
Haverford Superintendent Maureen Reusche did not immediately respond to an email Thursday seeking comment on any disciplinary action against Gagat and how long he has worked for the district.
There is no mention of the arrest on the district’s webpage and Gagat is listed as working at Lynnewood Elementary School on the school’s online directory as of Thursday.
Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Haverford teacher charged in Montco, Bucks with lewdness
