close

Teacher accused of ‘sexting’ to face revocation hearing in DUI case

By Jennifer Harr heraldstandard.Com 2 min read

A representative of the Fayette County Adult Probation Office has filed paperwork to revoke participation in a pretrial diversionary program for an area high school teacher charged with using a cellphone to send lewd photos and a video to one of his students.

In January — several months before Kevin Bell, a Connellsville Area High School teacher, was charged with sending the allegedly obscene materials — he was admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program for six months for driving under the influence of alcohol and other summary offenses.

Bell, court records alleged, was involved in a Jan. 26, 2011, accident in Bullskin Township, and his blood-alcohol was over .16 percent. That’s twice the legal limit for driving under the influence of alcohol in Pennsylvania.

One of the conditions of the program, generally for first-time, non-violent offenders, is that they not engage in any additional criminal activity.

Bell was charged in March with corruption of minors and disseminating explicit sexual material to a minor.

Earlier this week, a motion to revoke his participation in the program was filed. A hearing date has yet to be set on the matter.

State police claimed that Bell, of Mount Pleasant, told them he sent a 17-year-old student a video and pictures after a night of drinking.

Bell first contacted the teen through social media, and they later exchanged cellphone numbers and started sending text messages.

He allegedly told the girl to stay mum about their texting, or he would “never talk to her again,” police said.

Police alleged Bell sent the teen two sexually explicit photos of himself and one video of him performing a sex act. The girl also sent photos of herself to Bell, police said.

When police interviewed Bell, he told them that he was drinking when he swapped photos with the girl on March 11, and may have sent her a video, but could not remember.

His preliminary hearing in the new charges is set for Thursday before Magisterial District Judge Ronald J. Haggerty Jr. Bell is free on a $25,000 percentage bond, which was posted April 3 by a Pittsburgh bondsman.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $4.79/week.

Subscribe Today