WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A high school principal is facing charges after prosecutors said he maintained a yearslong relationship with a student that began when the student was in high school and continued while he was attending college.
Roger Freed, who was principal of Williamsport Area High School, is charged with 30 counts of third-degree felony school-intercourse/sexual contact with a student, felony sexual assault, and misdemeanor counts of giving alcohol to a minor, according to court documents obtained by CNN.
Court documents allege the relationship began in the 2014-2015 school year, when the student, having seen other students confide in Freed, approached the principal to lean on him for emotional support. The student told police that “he trusted Freed ‘like an older brother,’” according to documents obtained by the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. At the time, the student was in the ninth grade.
The student told police that from then on, Freed would text, call and FaceTime him outside of school hours and would also massage his shoulders, WNEP reported.
According to an affidavit obtained by WOLF, the pair’s one-on-one conversations became more sexual in nature, with Freed stressing to the student “the importance of not telling a soul” and that it was “OK for bros to please each other.”
The student told police that after the relationship turned sexual, the two would meet “4-5 times a week, always at night, throughout the next two years of high school,” CNN reported.
Freed was released on $175,000 bail and is required to wear an ankle monitor at all times, WOLF reported. He is also not allowed to have any unsupervised contact with minors.
A spokesperson for Williamsport Area School District told WNEP that Freed is suspended but still being paid, saying, “As per school policy and procedure, Dr. Freed is suspended from his position with pay. The school district is cooperating with authorities as they continue their investigation.”
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