Plum H.S. Teacher Arrested Again, Charged With Intimidation Of Witness
PLUM BOROUGH (KDKA) -- A Plum Area School District teacher accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student is facing additional charges.
Police arrested him for allegedly contacting the student and discussing the case.
There was a no contact order that was put into place earlier this month after Jason Cooper was initially charged with having an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of his students.
However, he did not adhere to this and contacted the alleged victim over the weekend.
Documents say Cooper decided to pick up the phone Friday and call an 18-year-old senior that he reportedly had sex with.
In a 30-minute conversation, the 38-year-old talked to the girl about her pending testimony.
Today, at Cooper's Monroeville apartment complex, neighbors were in disbelief over all of it.
"I have a teenaged daughter. To know that someone was living in my building that could that could be accused of this and my daughter is home by herself quite a bit, that's extremely concerning," Markila Brown said.
The girl's father called police Friday and told them about the phone call. Cooper turned himself in Monday.
"I'm still trying to process all of this. I don't even know how to process that. That's - there are only so many apartments in a building and to have someone who could be accused of something like this, that's just unreal," Brown said.
On top of the previous charges, Cooper now faces a charge of intimidating a witness or victim.
He has been suspended from the Plum School District.
KDKA-TV's Christine D'Antonio reached out to Cooper's attorney for a reaction on this second arrest and have not heard back.
Because one of the stipulations of Cooper's bond was to not have any contact with the victim, his bond was revoked and he was put back in the Allegheny County Jail.
Cooper is one of two Plum Borough School District teachers facing charges.
Joseph Ruggieri, a 40-year-old English teacher and the vice president of the education association, was arrested last week at his home and charged with institutional sexual assault and corruption of a minor.
Police say Ruggieri is accused of frequently meeting a female student outside of the school.
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
