A man working as a student teacher at a Chester County school was arrested and charged after he was accused of recording boys in the locker room at the school.
Law enforcement officials with the Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday that they have apprehended a 34-year-old man from Erie after he, allegedly, filmed boys in the locker room of a Chester County high school without their knowledge.
According to police officials, troopers apprehended 34-year-old Samuel Elliot Fischer, of Erie, after an investigation into an incident that allegedly occurred at Owen J. Roberts High School in Pottstown on Jan. 13, 2023.
Police claim the investigation found that Fischer, who was working as a student teacher, had been "surreptitiously recording male students in the locker room" while he was at the school.
In a statement to families, Will Stout, the superintendent of the Owen J. Roberts School District, said that Fischer was immediately removed from the district back in 2023 when concerns of Fischer's alleged conduct came to light.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
"In January 2023, we were made aware of concerns related to the conduct of a Student Teacher while at Owen J. Roberts High School. Working in partnership with the Pennsylvania State Police, the individual was immediately removed from our school district, an investigation was launched and all involved students and their families were contacted," read a statement from Stout. "After a lengthy investigation by the State Police, it was announced today that charges were filed against the individual, who was not an Owen J. Roberts employee, but was on our high school campus for approximately one week, from January 9 - 13, 2023. We want to thank our students and their families for making us aware of their concerns."
Also, according to police, an investigation further found that, from 2014 to 2019, while he was an athletic trainer in the Pine Richland School District in Allegheny County, Fischer is believed to have engaged in similar behavior.
Police said, in his time working in that district, Fischer is alleged to have recorded video of students in the locker room of Pine Richland High School and in the bathroom of Pine Richland Middle School.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
On Jan. 3, 2025, Fischer was charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of children and related offenses that, police believe, occurred in Chester and Allegheny counties.
"Mr. Fischer has fully cooperated with the Pennsylvania State Police, including voluntarily surrendering when the criminal charges were filed on Friday. He has never had any inappropriate physical contact with anyone. He voluntarily terminated his employment as an athletic trainer at the inception of the criminal investigation, and he has no contact with minors. He will work with me to see this case to its conclusion in the criminal court system," his attorney said in a statement to NBC10.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
