Ex-Boy Scout leader, teacher accused of sexually assaulting student for 2 years
A retired teacher of more than four decades is accused of having sexual contact with a young boy, and investigators believe there may be additional victims who could come forward.
Keith Steininger, 68, who taught and served as a Boy Scout leader at Pennsylvania boarding school Girard College for 41 years, allegedly sexually assaulted a student between 2018 and 2020, when the child was between the ages of 11 and 13 years old, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.
"Sexual contact with a child is always wrong," District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in the release. "When an adult entrusted with the care and well-being of children engages in such contact, the affront to society is even deeper. It is both heartbreaking and deeply disturbing that such an individual would take advantage of a vulnerable child."
Upland Borough Police were first notified of the allegations on Jan. 25 of this year, when a foster parent told them that her foster child told her that he had been the victim of sexual assaults for two years, alleging that Steininger touched his private parts while he had been a student at Girard College and staying at his home.
The school is a boarding school for children from families headed by a single parent or guardian.
"Sadly, we believe that – given the defendant’s long tenure working with children – it is very likely that additional victims will come forward," Stollsteimer said.
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Stollsteimer's office said that in late February, the alleged victim produced text messages between himself and Steininger to investigators. The prosecutor's office also stated that during an April 11 phone call between the victim and Steininger, the suspect allegedly acknowledged having had sexual contact with the former student and apologized to him.
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Steininger, who retired from Girard College in 2022, has been charged with sexual contact with a student, indecent assault of a person less than 13, unlawful contact with a minor, endangering the welfare of a child and related offenses. He was placed in custody with bail set at $250,000. His next court date is set for May 2.