Police, School Official Perplexed Over Behavior of Teacher Accused of Having Sex With Student

| May 6, 2017

shaun-mcloughlin-picOIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) – A range of emotions were felt by those who are investigating the case of Shaun McLoughlin, the Oil City High School teacher who is accused of having a sexual relationship with a female student at the school.

“It’s difficult to understand,” Oil City Superintendent Pat Gavin said Friday. “It was a surprise, a shock and also very sad when we learned of it.”

Gavin said Oil City Police told the school of the investigation earlier this year and the decision was made to place McLoughlin on administrative leave, with pay.

“I don’t recall exactly what the date was, but it was probably sometime in early February,” Gavin said. “In terms of his pay status, we’ll have our legal counsel take a look at it and see what we will do.”

Oil City Chief of Police Bob Wenner told exploreVenango.com he doesn’t see the latest case indicating an epidemic. Earlier this week, Franklin Middle School teacher Kyle Stanley Askins was arrested and jailed on charges related to an alleged sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

“As to the human condition, everybody is judged by their worst moment and not your best,” Wenner said. “But a trust factor was violated and not only with the student but also with his colleagues.”

“It’s a shame with all of the good teachers that are out there, working hard to educate the kids, that it happens. But I don’t see it as an epidemic.”

Wenner also talked about his thoughts on the investigation.

“I’m very pleased with the cooperation we received from the Oil City School District,” Wenner said.

According to police, McLoughlin allegedly had sex with the victim on school grounds.

The following statement was received by Chief Wenner of the Oil City Police Department on Friday, May 5, 2017:

The Oil City Police Department has reached the conclusion of a long-term, thorough investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by Oil City High School teacher, Shaun Kevin McLoughlin, 39, of Franklin.

The investigation began in August 2016 via a report from Venango County Children and Youth Services and did culminate with the arrest of McLoughlin.

Sometime between November 2014 and April 2017, in the City of Oil City, McLoughlin, then being 37 years of age at the onset of the crime(s), did engage in a course of misconduct, which tended to corrupt the moral of a then 16-year-old female student. McLoughlin encouraged the minor to conspire with him to further their relationship over the prolonged period of time.

McLoughlin engaged in a mental, emotional, and physically intimate relationship with the victim, which did turn sexual in nature after she reached her 17th birthday.

The acts did occur on the Oil City Senior High School property, both during the school day and after, while McLoughlin was engaged in his duties as a teacher/instructor. Further, McLoughlin met with the victim in person in Huntingdon, Centre, and Allegheny counties, continuing their physical relations while she was both a minor, and into adulthood, after her departure from the Oil City School District in the spring of 2015.

McLoughlin devised a system for them to communicate covertly, with the intent of their relationship going undiscovered, using various encrypted text-based messaging, picture, chat, video, and cloud-based mobile applications. In addition to the applications, McLoughlin and the victim did use alternative email addresses and phones to contact each other. In many instances, these communications would be of a sexual nature.

Oil City Police collected evidence, information, and facts through a process of investigation which included forensic interviews of the victim at the Mt. Nittany Health Child Advocacy Center in Penn State, video and audio recorded statement of admission collected from McLoughlin in the presence of his council, voluntary digital and paper record submission by the victim, and search warrant(s) service for digital records held by the email/applications servers.

McLoughlin, with his council, Michael Antkowiak Esq., met with the arresting officer at District Court 28-3-01, the Honorable Andrew Fish’s office, at 9:00 a.m. today. He was taken into custody with an arrest warrant at that time for the crime of Corruption of Minors, Sexually Based Offenses, Felony 3.

A preliminary arraignment resulted in $100,000.00 unsecured bail, with the additional condition of electronic GPS monitoring by Venango Co. Court Supervision Services.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 10, at the Venango County Central Court.


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