Authorities said on Friday that a Pennsylvania school principal had been detained and accused of having a long-term sexual relationship with a pupil who looked up to him as an “older brother.”
Roger Weaver Freed, 34, was detained by state police and prosecutors earlier this week; he has since been freed on $175,000 bail, according to state trooper Lauren Lesher.
He is accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a pupil, corrupting a minor, providing alcohol to a minor, sexual assault, and aggravated indecent assault without consent. Authorities have not released the victim’s name; he is now in college.
“Between late 2015 and April 2022,” Freed “engaged in a sexual relationship” with the student that lasted into the victim’s college tenure, according to a criminal complaint written by state Trooper Matthew Miller.
When the victim’s brother passed away from brain cancer, the two grew close because the child “learned to trust Freed like an older brother,” Miller continued.
According to the complaint, the victim claimed that he spent a lot of time alone with Freed under the impression that they were “‘bros’ and could chat about anything, notably (the boy’s) sexuality.”
And during one sexual encounter in the spring or summer of 2017, Miller said, Freed threatened to lose his job if the youngster notified anybody about the encounter.
Even after the youngster graduated from high school in 2018, Freed kept having sex with him.
The assault started when the youngster was about sixteen years old, according to a statement from Ryan Gardner, the district attorney for Lycoming County.
Last known contact information
Address: 1131 Pleasant Hill Rd Cogan Station, PA 17728
Phone: (570) 506-1620
Email: dnakhauser@netzero.net
