Megan Carlisle appears in a mugshot in May 2023. (Northwest Regional Police Department)
A now-former Pennsylvania middle school monitor has been charged with a litany of crimes related to the sexual exploitation of at least one student at the school where she worked, authorities say.
Megan Carlisle, 37, of Elizabethtown, stands accused of one count each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, institutional sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, statutory sexual assault, and dissemination of sexual materials to a minor, according to a press release issued by the Northwest Regional Police Department.
The defendant was previously employed by the Elizabethtown Middle School as a paraprofessional and in-school-suspension monitor.
“We can share that the behavior was sexual in nature,” an earlier statement released by the school district when the allegations first surfaced on May 4 says, according to LancasterOnline. “Rest assured that we will cooperate with any pending investigation.”
The defendant was arrested on May 25.
Law enforcement allege that Carlisle groped a student during in-school suspension on April 28. After that, the 15-year-old allegedly told police, Carlisle sent him and a 16-year-old friend numerous texts and Snapchat messages. Those texts and messages allegedly discussed sex and included explicit selfies — and an explicit video of herself. While the Snapchat files were deleted after a while, the 16-year-old boy is alleged to have recorded them with his own cell phone and later provided that evidence to police, who forensically downloaded them.
On the evening of April 28, Carlisle picked the boy up, and the two engaged in sexual activity in her car in a parking lot, police allege.
In an affidavit of probable cause obtained by York, Pennsylvania-based Fox affiliate WPMT, the alleged victim also told police that after the encounter in Carlisle’s car, he asked her for money for food, and she sent him $20 via CashApp. The day after that, the boy allegedly texted Carlisle and said he needed vape pods, the affidavit reportedly says. The defendant then allegedly purchased four vape pods, met the boy in the same parking lot as the night before, gave him the vape pods, and drove away.
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“The investigation also discovered the images and videos made by Carlisle have been sent and shared to an unknown number of other students in Elizabethtown School,” the NRPD said in a press release.
The school district released the following statement:
The Elizabethtown Area School District is aware of the charges filed against Megan Carlisle, former paraprofessional at the high school, for alleged sexual misconduct. While we do not generally make it our practice to comment on personnel or legal matters, we believe this situation necessitates a statement. As such, we are sharing the following information: Ms. Carlisle is no longer employed by the school. The District fully cooperated with local law enforcement on their investigation. We will have no further comments on this matter as it will be adjudicated in the courts.
The investigation is said to be ongoing due to what police believe to be the large number of victims in the case.
Carlisle is currently being detained in Lancaster County Prison on $200,000 bail.
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School fires Megan Carlisle after student sex allegations