D.A. seeks to consolidate charges against teacher
Prosecutors are looking to narrow the number of charges against a Slippery Rock Middle School math teacher accused of fondling four of his students from 20 to five.
State police filed charges against Robert P. Willison, 51, in late October 2018 following an investigation sparked by a complaint filed in September through ChildLine, the state's avenue for people to report suspected child abuse.
“He's facing the same charges, with the same penalties,” Assistant District Attorney Laura Pitchford said, noting that the reduction in charges doesn't mean that the prosecution is dropping charges against Willison. “They were originally filed as consolidated charges but they were split (during the preliminary arraignment) to reflect each victim.”
During a Wednesday hearing in Butler County Common Pleas Court before Judge Timothy McCune, the District Attorney's Office requested consolidating charges against Willison and reducing the number of counts to the original five.
Willison faces felony charges of institutional sexual assault, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children, a summary charge of harassment and a misdemeanor charge of indecent assault.
School administrators suspended Willison following accusations that he inappropriately touched the buttocks of the schoolgirls. The Eagle reached out to school officials Wednesday for comment, but the district did not return phone calls. Willison's employment status with the district is unclear at this time.
Willison's lawyer, Eric David Levin, also declined to respond to media inquiries.
According to police, Willison's autumn suspension for the accusations was his third related to sexual abuse or harassment complaints since 2012. Addressing the charges during a Nov. 21 school board meeting, school officials read the following statement: “Pertaining to the criminal charges, which were filed against a teacher in our middle school, the district cannot provide any further comment or information because of these pending charges and related personal matters and student involvement, pursuant to board policy 6-1.”
Police said Willison first touched one of the four girls on Sept. 20 during class after she asked him to help her with homework. Police said the girl reported that Willison got down on his knees near her desk and put his hand on her chair. He then allegedly “swirled and rubbed his thumb” on her rear end for “some time,” according to court documents. Three other girls later reported similar encounters with him.
