Teacher Arrested For Alleged Inappropriate Relationship With Student After Her Husband Alerts Principal

Gina Tron
·2 min read
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The husband of a Pennsylvania high school choir teacher alerted school administrators of her allegedly inappropriate relationship with a female student, leading to her arrest.

Olivia Ortz, 26, surrendered to the police on Monday and was charged with two counts of sexual activity with one of her 17-year-old Wilmington Area High School students, WTAE reports. Otriz’ husband, who did contract work for the same school, allegedly discovered messages from the teen on Ortiz’s iPad. Alarmed, he brought the texts to the attention of the school, who immediately suspected Ortz without pay. She was the secretary of the chorale organization when the allegations were made.

The New Wilmington Police Department has not immediately responded to Oxygen.com’s request for comment.

The department conducted several interviews with the victim, who allegedly admitted that Ortz had engaged in sexual activity with her. According to court documents obtained by WTAE, the teen believed that her choir director was a "safe adult.”

Ortz is accused of inviting the victim to her home while her husband was out of town; she then allegedly victimized the girl by enticing her in sexual activity in the married couple’s bedroom, WPXI reports. The victim told police she returned to the home several times to "comfort" Ortz after her husband discovered their “relationship.”

Investigators believe that Ortz and the student began communicating over Spotify after Ortz’s cell phone and iPad were confiscated on May 5; they allege that the two spoke in code words to conceal their conversation’s contents.

Ortz was being held in the Lawrence County Jail on a $150,000 bond but has since posted bond. It’s not clear if she has a lawyer. Her preliminary hearing is set for May 25.

Ortz resigned from her role at the school on May 9. Her predecessor, former music director Jonathan Priano, 37, was arrested in 2020 for alleged misconduct with various students, New Castle News reports. He faces 10 counts of sexual assault and two counts of unlawful contact with minors. His pretrial hearing set for June 29.