January 08, 2025
PAUL KUEHNEL/USA TODAY NETWORK
Samuel Elliot Fischer, 34, of Erie, and former Chester County student teacher faces charges for allegedly recording students in an Owen J. Roberts High School locker room, with the investigation uncovering similar incidents at a Pittsburgh-area school.
A former student teacher at a Chester County high school has been accused of secretly recording videos of boys in a locker room. The investigation, which began two years ago, also has resulted in charges against the man from when he worked at a suburban Pittsburgh school, Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday.
Staff at Owen J. Roberts High School, in South Coventry Township reported Samuel Elliot Fischer, 34, of Erie, to police in January 2023 after students saw Fischer carrying his phone in his back pocket, with the camera facing outward toward members of the school's wrestling team as they showered, the Pittsburgh Tribune reported.
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State police said they searched Fischer's electronic devices and USB drives and allegedly found videos and photos of students, some of the files dating back to 2015. Fischer worked as an athletic trainer at Pine-Richland School District's high school and middle school from 2014 to 2019.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that officials at the Allegheny County public school system learned of Fischer's arrest early Wednesday and released a statement saying he worked in the district as a "third-party contractor."
Will Stout, superintendent of Owen J. Roberts School District, said in a statement that Fischer had been immediately removed from the high school when the complaint was made in 2023. He had only been assigned to the high school for about a week at the time, Stout said.
"An investigation was launched and all involved students and their families were contacted," Stout said.
Owen J. Roberts School District covers towns in northern Chester County, just south of Pottstown.
Fischer is charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of children and invasion of privacy. He has been released on $100,000 unsecured bail and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23.
