Pennsylvania middle school teacher arrested for alleged sexual abuse of 13-year-old child

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A middle school teacher in southeastern Pennsylvania was arrested this week for allegedly sexually abusing a 13-year-old child and sending explicit videos to them, Berks County District Attorney John Adams announced. 

Michael J. Conner, Jr., 38, was taken into custody on Monday and charged with sexual abuse of children, institutional sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors, and other crimes. 

Berks County detectives first became aware of the abuse on Sept. 19, when they were called by social services about sexually inappropriate messages that Conner had allegedly sent the child. 

Michael J. Conner, Jr., 38, was arrested for sexual abuse of children on Monday.  (Berks County District Attorney John Adams)

A few days later, detectives interviewed the victim, whose gender was not released by law enforcement. The child told police that they started communicating on social media and the conversation turned sexual. 

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"The juvenile victim disclosed that this teacher sent pictures and videos depicting himself performing sexual acts, and that he would request similar videos in return," the district attorney said on Monday. 

"It was also disclosed that on more than one occasion, the defendant would pick up the juvenile victim in his vehicle after school and drive them to a secluded location. During one of these encounters, he sexually abused the juvenile victim."

Central Middle School in Reading, Pennsylvania.  (Google Maps)

Conner has been employed as a fifth-grade teacher at Reading School District since 2020. 

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Reading School District told WGAL that a mandatory background check did not reveal any previous incidents or allegations in Conner's past. 

"Our priority, today and every day, is to ensure the safety of our students and staff. A crisis team has been made available at for any student or staff member who needs to talk," the school district told the local news outlet in a statement.