Teacher accused of sexually abusing grade-school student in Chester County

A 56-year-old West Chester man was charged with sexually abusing a student while he worked as a teacher at Nottingham Elementary School in Chester County, authorities announced Wednesday.

Luis Morales allegedly abused the girl while she was in the third and fourth grades between 2014 and 2016 while Morales taught English as a Second Language at the school, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office and the Oxford Borough Police Department said in a news release.

In June 2021, the student, now 14, reported the allegations to the Oxford police. That same month, Morales was suspended from the Phoenixville Area School District, where he had been working for the last five years after leaving Nottingham Elementary School, which is located in Oxford and is part of the Oxford Area School District.

Morales is charged with multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault, institutional sexual assault, corruption of minors, and related offenses. He posted 10% of his $350,000 bail, authorities said.

“Chester County is seeing an unacceptable wave of students who have been sexually abused in our elementary, middle, and high schools,” District Attorney Deb Ryan said in a statement.

“It is imperative that we implement safeguards in our schools and any other place children are to protect them from predators,” Ryan said. “Adults need to engage in oversight by watching out for children. Anyone who works with children has a legal obligation as a mandated reporter, but all adults have a moral responsibility to do the right thing to protect them. We must do better.”

Morales could not be reached for comment, and no attorney representing him was listed in online court records. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 28.