Former H.S. Rowing Coach Sentenced In Student Sex Case

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A former North Allegheny High School female rowing coach has been sentenced to jail for having a sexual relationship with a student.

In August, Megan Batykefer was found guilty of institutional sexual assault.

This issue isn't new in Allegheny County, but will be settled at some point by appeals courts. Is it illegal to have a sexual relationship with a student who has turned 18?

The judge in this case says yes if the student-teacher relationship turned into something else.

Megan Batykefer, 31, the former rowing coach at North Allegheny High School, arrived at court early Tuesday to learn her fate. She was accompanied by her father who asked the judge not to send her to jail so that she could be treated for mental illness.

Her lawyer revealed that she suffered from a mental illness, but did not detail the nature of it and declined to be interviewed.

One of the things Judge Ed Borkowski told Batykefer was "you cannot do this and not expect to go to jail."

He then sentenced her to eight to 23 months in jail for her conviction on the charge of institutional sexual assault. However, he's allowing her to remain out on bond while her lawyer challenges the constitutionality of that law to Superior Court.

Former North Allegheny rowing coach sentenced to 8-23 months but can remain out on bail pending appeal of institutional sexual assault law

— Harold Hayes (@hhayes_harold) November 10, 2015

The defense contended that although they met through the male student's participation on the rowing team while he was 17, their sexual relationship didn't begin till he turned 18.

Her defense, like the defense in Plum teacher Jason Cooper's cases, is that the law is vague and that the teenaged victim was 18 and was a consenting adult.

But the judge says his view of the law is that it puts the responsibility on the shoulders of the person, who by maturity and professional position, is responsible for avoiding such activity.

"The law is in place," said the judge, "to make sure those affiliated with schools teach and guide students, not court them."

The appeal to challenge the law goes to Superior Court, but it's not certain how long the appeal process could take before she begins to serve her sentence.

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