Peyton Harris. (Image via the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.)
A former Pennsylvania substitute teacher and track coach has pleaded guilty to charges of child porn possession and furnishing alcohol to minors, prosecutors said this week.
Peyton Harris, of Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, was accused of hosting a party at his home, furnishing alcohol to minors using a false ID, and taking photos and videos of minors engaged in sexual activity, officials said.
Harris was a substitute teacher at Juniata and Newport high schools, and was the assistant manager for the track team at Juniata, the AG’s office said. The schools are less than an hour drive northwest of Harrisburg in the central part of the Keystone State.
“Parents and students trusted Mr. Harris to be a positive influence and empower the young people in their community,” said Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry. “He violated that trust when he exploited minors and put them at risk. Today’s guilty plea is a reminder that this office will continue to work to protect young people and hold accountable those who hurt them.”
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Harris hosted a party at his home where he furnished alcohol to minors using a false ID card, the news release said. During the party, Harris took photos and videos of minors engaged in sexual activity, authorities said.
According to a copy of the criminal complaint, at least one of the recordings depicted a person “in a state of full or partial nudity” in a “place where that person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
A probable cause affidavit says the state police learned of the alleged crimes on April 25, 2022.
“[A] juvenile student . . . at Juniata High School was engaging in a sexual relationship with Peyton William Harris,” the affidavit says of the tip which led the authorities to commence an investigation.
That student allegedly said during a police interview on April 29, 2022, that “he and the defendant had kissed in approximately July of 2021.”
The affidavit says the student further told the police that the defendant “had multiple nude photos and videos” in his possession. In one instance, the defendant allegedly recorded the complaining student having “sexual intercourse with a female without either party’s consent.”
The defendant is also alleged to have taken photos of a student “measuring his own penis with a ruler.”
Some of the images were transmitted on Snapchat, the affidavit said.
Harris is currently scheduled to appear for his sentencing hearing in the Juniata County Court of Common Pleas on May 16, court records show.