Former teacher pleads guilty in sexting case
A former Connellsville math teacher scheduled to be tried for allegedly sending sexually explicit text messages to a high school student entered a general guilty plea Friday instead of facing a jury in the upcoming criminal court term.
Kevin Bell, 27, of Mount Pleasant, was charged in March 2012 with corruption of minors and disseminating explicit sexual material to a minor. State police claimed Bell told them he sent a 17-year-old student a sexually explicit video and pictures after a night of drinking.
Bell pleaded guilty to the corruption of minors charge, and prosecutors agreed to dismiss the charge of disseminating explicit sexual materials. Because his plea is a general one, it was entered without a fixed sentence. Fayette County Judge Steve P. Leskinen will decide the sentence on July 16.
Assistant District Attorney Meghann Mikluscak said after discussions with the victim and the investigating officer on the case, the district attorney’s office was satisfied with Bell pleading guilty to the corruption charge alone.
According to police, Bell first contacted the teen through social media, and they later exchanged cellphone numbers and started sending text messages. 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, and may have sent her a video, but could not remember.
Months before Bell was charged with “sexting,” 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.
A judge found Bell violated that condition when he was again arrested for drunken driving in Allegheny County on Nov. 19 — his birthday.
Bell served a brief jail sentence in Fayette County Prison earlier this year before being released on parole.